Coty (NYSE:COTY) Trading Down 3.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Coty's stock experienced a decline of 3.3%, trading as low as $4.17, with a significant drop in trading volume, indicating a bearish market sentiment.
• Multiple research firms have lowered their price targets for Coty, with analysts divided on the stock's potential, resulting in a consensus "Hold" rating.
• Insider activity has been notable, with Coty's CEO and another insider purchasing a significant number of shares at prices below current trading levels, signaling faith in the company's prospects.

Coty (NYSE:COTY - Get Free Report) shares were down 3.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $4.17 and last traded at $4.20. Approximately 865,827 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 7,988,009 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COTY. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Coty from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Coty from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Coty from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Coty from $4.50 to $3.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Coty from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.06.

Coty Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.26 and a 200-day moving average of $4.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Coty (NYSE:COTY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Coty had a negative net margin of 6.24% and a positive return on equity of 5.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Coty will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Priya Srinivasan acquired 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.84 per share, for a total transaction of $115,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 37,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,034.56. This trade represents a 399.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sue Nabi purchased 260,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.92 per share, for a total transaction of $1,019,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 32,127,286 shares in the company, valued at $125,938,961.12. The trade was a 0.82% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 334,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,321,840 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coty

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Coty during the second quarter worth about $52,449,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Coty in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,829,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Coty by 456.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,063,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,981,000 after purchasing an additional 3,333,511 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Coty by 6,340.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,883,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,651,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Coty during the second quarter worth approximately $11,015,000. Institutional investors own 42.36% of the company's stock.

About Coty

Coty Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells beauty products worldwide. It operates through Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments. The company provides fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care products. It offers Prestige segment products primarily through prestige retailers, including perfumeries, department stores, e-retailers, direct-to-consumer websites, and duty-free shops under the Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Joop!, Kylie Jenner, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Orveda, philosophy, SKKN BY KIM, and Tiffany & Co brands.

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