Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Spotify, with 17 buy, two strong-buy and six hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is approximately $609, above the reported share price of $526.99.
• Spotify’s latest quarter showed 13.9% year-over-year revenue growth to $5.45 billion, but EPS of $3.03 fell short of the $3.16 consensus estimate.
• Insiders sold 52,538 shares worth about $25.9 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 84.09% of the company.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $609.0476.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SPOT. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $510.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price target on shares of Spotify Technology in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Spotify Technology from $531.00 to $527.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Spotify Technology from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Spotify Technology

In other news, CEO Gustav Söderström sold 20,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.45, for a total transaction of $9,967,548.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,259 shares in the company, valued at $9,692,918.55. This trade represents a 50.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,773 shares in the company, valued at $33,526,723.30. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 52,538 shares of company stock valued at $25,878,250 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Spotify Technology in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Spotify Technology during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Spotify Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 423.1% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Spotify Technology Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of SPOT stock opened at $526.99 on Friday. Spotify Technology has a 12 month low of $405.00 and a 12 month high of $745.00. The stock has a market cap of $108.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $508.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $493.86.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.42) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Spotify Technology Company Profile

Spotify Technology SA is a Luxembourg-based audio streaming company that operates the Spotify platform. The service gives users access to a broad catalog of music, podcasts and audiobooks, with features for searching, discovering, creating and sharing audio content across connected devices.

Spotify offers an ad-supported service at no subscription cost and paid Premium plans that provide additional features, including ad-free listening and offline playback. The company generates revenue primarily through subscriptions and advertising, while working with music labels, publishers, podcast creators and other rights holders to distribute content.

Founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, Spotify launched its streaming service in 2008.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.