Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Stock Rating Cut to Hold at Stonex Financia

Key Points

• StoneX downgraded Spotify from “strong buy” to “hold”, citing limited near-term revenue-per-user catalysts and higher payments to record labels. Despite the downgrade, analysts’ overall consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $610.25.
• Spotify’s latest quarter showed 13.9% year-over-year revenue growth to $5.45 billion, but earnings of $3.03 per share missed estimates. Investors are expected to focus on margins, subscriber trends and management’s outlook ahead of upcoming results.
• CEO Gustav Söderström sold roughly $11.4 million in shares to cover tax obligations tied to vested equity awards, reducing his direct holdings by more than half. Institutional investors continue to hold a substantial 84.09% of the company’s stock.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Stonex Financia from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

SPOT has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $695.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Spotify Technology from $690.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $531.00 to $527.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Spotify Technology in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spotify Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $610.25.

Spotify Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SPOT opened at $532.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. Spotify Technology has a 52-week low of $405.00 and a 52-week high of $696.95. The company's 50 day moving average price is $521.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $495.34.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.13). Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 41.39% and a net margin of 18.44%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.42) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spotify Technology news, CEO Gustav Söderström sold 20,913 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.19, for a total value of $11,380,645.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,897,404.75. This trade represents a 51.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Alex Norström sold 5,436 shares of Spotify Technology stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $502.10, for a total transaction of $2,729,415.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,773 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,526,723.30. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 68,092 shares of company stock worth $35,762,410 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spotify Technology

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of Spotify Technology by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 81 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC increased its position in Spotify Technology by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,007,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Spotify Technology by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the company's stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Spotify Technology by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 474 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in Spotify Technology by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 860 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Spotify Technology News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Spotify Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Spotify outperformed the broader market in the latest session, suggesting investors may be focusing on its improving profitability and long-term growth prospects ahead of its upcoming earnings report. Why Spotify outpaced the stock market
• Positive Sentiment: Baillie Gifford highlighted Spotify’s potential to benefit from artificial-intelligence-driven personalization and deeper listener insights, which could support engagement, targeting and monetization over time. Spotify AI personalization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Siri functionality in Apple’s iOS 27 makes Spotify easier to control by voice, potentially improving discovery and usage among iPhone customers. Spotify Siri integration
• Neutral Sentiment: StoneX downgraded SPOT to Hold from Buy, citing limited near-term catalysts for revenue per user and higher payments to record labels. The call adds pressure to a stock trading at a premium earnings multiple. StoneX Spotify downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Spotify is expected to report earnings soon, but analysts anticipate a decline in earnings and see limited evidence of a likely consensus beat. Investors will focus on margins, subscriber trends and management’s outlook. Spotify earnings expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that lossless audio is disrupting the Spotify desktop application could hurt customer satisfaction and complicate the rollout of a higher-quality service. Spotify lossless audio issues
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gustav Söderström sold approximately $11.1 million of shares, reducing his direct holdings by more than half. The filing says the sale covered tax withholding on vested equity awards, which limits—but does not eliminate—the negative signaling effect. Spotify CEO SEC filing

Spotify Technology Company Profile

Spotify Technology SA is a global audio streaming company that operates the Spotify platform. The service provides users with access to a broad catalog of music, podcasts and audiobooks, along with personalized recommendations, playlists and other discovery features.

Spotify offers a subscription-based Premium service with enhanced listening features, as well as an ad-supported service available at no direct cost to users. The company generates revenue primarily through Premium subscriptions and advertising, including audio, video and display advertising delivered across its platform.

Founded in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, Spotify is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and serves listeners, creators, advertisers and other partners across markets worldwide.

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