CLEAR Secure (NYSE:YOU) Stock Price Down 7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• CLEAR Secure shares fell 7% in mid-day trading, dropping from a previous close of $62.36 to as low as $57.07 amid lighter-than-normal volume.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.38 versus estimates of $0.35 and revenue of $253 million, up 19.7% year over year.
• Analysts remain mostly constructive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $60, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

CLEAR Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $57.07 and last traded at $58.0090. 195,061 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,663,110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on YOU. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of CLEAR Secure in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of CLEAR Secure from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of CLEAR Secure in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CLEAR Secure from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $60.00 price target on shares of CLEAR Secure in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CLEAR Secure presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

CLEAR Secure Price Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average is $53.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 45.56 and a beta of 1.09.

CLEAR Secure (NYSE:YOU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.03. CLEAR Secure had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 68.98%. The firm had revenue of $253.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CLEAR Secure, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

CLEAR Secure Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. CLEAR Secure's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Dennis W. Liu sold 7,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total transaction of $386,131.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $532,327.20. This represents a 42.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Michael Z. Barkin sold 22,885 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.22, for a total transaction of $1,103,514.70. Following the sale, the president owned 5,669 shares in the company, valued at $273,359.18. The trade was a 80.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 68,367 shares of company stock valued at $3,365,229. 39.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CLEAR Secure

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in CLEAR Secure by 153.1% in the second quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 7,490,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,932,000 after purchasing an additional 4,531,161 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CLEAR Secure by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,312,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,193,000 after purchasing an additional 59,067 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in CLEAR Secure by 1.2% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,063,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,245,000 after purchasing an additional 35,304 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in CLEAR Secure by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,696,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,605,000 after purchasing an additional 152,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in CLEAR Secure by 0.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,680,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,784,000 after purchasing an additional 8,883 shares in the last quarter. 73.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CLEAR Secure Company Profile

CLEAR Secure, Inc operates a biometric identity platform designed to expedite identity verification for air travelers and venue guests. The company’s core offering is the CLEAR membership service, which uses fingerprint and iris scans to confirm a member’s identity and provide access to dedicated security lanes at participating airports. Members link government-issued IDs and personal biometric data via the CLEAR app, enabling faster processing through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints and select event entrances.

Founded in 2010 by Caryn Seidman‐Becker and Ken Cornick, CLEAR is headquartered in New York City.

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