Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Klarna a consensus “Hold” rating: Of 20 firms covering the stock, 11 rate it Hold, seven Buy, one Strong Buy and one Sell. The average 12-month price target is $22.44, although some brokers recently cut their targets.
• Klarna opened at $13.44, near its 52-week low of $12.06 and well below its 52-week high of $38.19.
• Recent results exceeded estimates: Klarna reported quarterly EPS of $0.01 versus a forecast loss of $0.06 and revenue of $1.04 billion, up 26.6% year over year. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski also bought about $9.95 million of shares.

Klarna Group plc (NYSE:KLAR - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.44.

KLAR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Klarna Group from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Klarna Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Klarna Group in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered Klarna Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Klarna Group from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th.

Klarna Group Price Performance

NYSE KLAR opened at $13.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -36.33 and a beta of 1.62. Klarna Group has a one year low of $12.06 and a one year high of $38.19. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $13.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.05.

Klarna Group (NYSE:KLAR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $992.56 million. The company's revenue was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Klarna Group will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Klarna Group

In other news, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski purchased 692,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.37 per share, for a total transaction of $9,951,311.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 25,344,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $364,197,907.14. The trade was a 2.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Klarna Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Klarna Group by 89.6% in the second 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Klarna Group by 173.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,043,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,744,000 after buying an additional 1,297,200 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Klarna Group by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,198,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,689,000 after buying an additional 385,811 shares in the last quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its position in shares of Klarna Group by 57.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Klarna Group during the 2nd quarter worth $11,848,000.

About Klarna Group

Klarna Group is a financial technology company that provides digital payment and shopping services to consumers and merchants. Its offerings include checkout payments, installment plans, and options to pay immediately or at a later date, subject to availability and terms.

The company also operates a shopping app where users can discover products, compare prices, track orders, and manage purchases. For merchants, Klarna provides payment processing and related tools designed to support online and in-store commerce.

Founded in Stockholm in 2005, Klarna serves consumers and businesses across multiple markets in Europe, North America, and other regions.

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