211,906 Shares in Spotify Technology $SPOT Bought by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors LLC opened a new position in Spotify Technology, buying 211,906 shares valued at about $102.8 million in the first quarter. The stake represents roughly 1.4% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with about 84.09% of Spotify shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds. Several other firms also recently added to or trimmed their positions.
• Analyst sentiment is still broadly positive: UBS reiterated a buy rating and expects roughly 15.6% constant-currency revenue growth in Q2, while the consensus rating on the stock remains Moderate Buy.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 211,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,755,000. Spotify Technology makes up approximately 1.4% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Spotify Technology as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Spotify Technology by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 645,196 shares of the company's stock worth $374,672,000 after buying an additional 73,722 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 2,515.9% in the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 5,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 5,384 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 18,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,769,000 after acquiring an additional 5,071 shares in the last quarter. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,162,000. Finally, Robinhood Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,233,000. 84.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Spotify Technology

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS expects Spotify to report accelerating Q2 revenue growth of about 15.6% on a constant-currency basis, with results likely in line with management guidance, reinforcing confidence in the company’s near-term fundamentals. Spotify on track for double-digit growth, UBS says ahead of Q2
• Positive Sentiment: UBS maintained a buy rating on Spotify Technology (SPOT), signaling continued analyst support despite a lower price target. UBS lowers Spotify price target to $690
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts also adjusted price targets this week, including Rosenblatt and Wells Fargo, but the ratings stayed mostly neutral-to-bullish, suggesting expectations have shifted more than the underlying thesis. Spotify analyst price target changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider share sales by executives, including the CEO and co-CEO, drew attention, but the filings indicate the transactions were tied to tax withholding or pre-arranged trading plans, which softens the negative signal. Spotify CEO sells shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary highlighted insider selling and valuation concerns, which could pressure sentiment if investors decide Spotify’s growth is already priced in. Spotify stock could be 35% undervalued despite fraud stream removals

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPOT has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Spotify Technology from $670.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Spotify Technology from $430.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $750.00 to $720.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $534.00 to $531.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $638.58.

Insider Transactions at Spotify Technology

In other Spotify Technology news, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.86, for a total value of $2,613,954.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 67,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,497,480.52. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Christopher P. Marshall sold 2,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.86, for a total transaction of $1,377,629.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,099,714.54. This trade represents a 39.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,442 shares of company stock worth $54,757,553. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

NYSE SPOT traded down $5.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $480.46. 934,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,663,636. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.56. Spotify Technology has a fifty-two week low of $405.00 and a fifty-two week high of $748.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $471.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $495.32.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.63. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Spotify Technology Company Profile

Spotify Technology is a digital audio streaming company best known for its on-demand music service and a growing portfolio of spoken-word content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched commercially in 2008, the company offers a cross-platform app that enables users to discover, stream and organize music, podcasts and other audio. Its primary consumer products include a free, ad-supported tier and a paid Spotify Premium subscription that provides ad-free listening, offline playback and higher-quality audio streams.

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