Monness Crespi & Hardt Initiates Coverage on Klarna Group (NYSE:KLAR)

Key Points

• Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage of Klarna Group with a “buy” rating and a $20 price target, implying approximately 55.7% upside from the stock’s $12.85 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Klarna has an overall “hold” consensus rating and a $22.44 average price target, with recent downgrades from Wall Street Zen and Wolfe Research.
• Klarna reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $0.01 EPS versus a $0.06 loss estimate and $1.04 billion in revenue, up 26.6% year over year. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski also purchased nearly $10 million of shares.

Research analysts at Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Klarna Group (NYSE:KLAR - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt's price target would suggest a potential upside of 55.67% from the stock's current price.

KLAR has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Klarna Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wolfe Research cut shares of Klarna Group from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Klarna Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Klarna Group in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $22.00) on shares of Klarna Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.44.

Klarna Group Stock Performance

Shares of KLAR opened at $12.85 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.99. Klarna Group has a 52-week low of $12.06 and a 52-week high of $40.05.

Klarna Group (NYSE:KLAR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.07. Klarna Group had a negative return on equity of 5.39% and a negative net margin of 3.54%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $992.56 million. The company's revenue was up 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Klarna Group will post -0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Klarna Group

In other news, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski bought 692,506 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.37 per share, for a total transaction of $9,951,311.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 25,344,322 shares in the company, valued at $364,197,907.14. The trade was a 2.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Klarna Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAR. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Klarna Group by 89.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,698,353 shares of the company's stock worth $115,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693,374 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Klarna Group during the first quarter worth $18,872,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Klarna Group by 173.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,043,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,200 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Klarna Group in the second quarter valued at about $11,848,000. Finally, Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Klarna Group by 57.8% in the first quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,198,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,701,000 after buying an additional 438,930 shares during the period.

Klarna Group Company Profile

Klarna Group is a global financial technology company that provides digital payment and consumer-finance services. Its platform enables shoppers to pay immediately, later, or over time, while giving merchants tools to process payments, manage checkout experiences, and engage customers.

The company's products include buy now, pay later options, installment plans, direct payments, digital checkout services, and the Klarna Card. Klarna also operates a consumer shopping platform that allows users to discover products, compare offers, track purchases, and manage payments.

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