ARK Investment Management LLC Purchases 528,147 Shares of Ibotta, Inc. (NYSE:IBTA)

Key Points

• ARK Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Ibotta, Inc. by 299.8%, now holding $29.72 million worth of shares.
• Ibotta's board has initiated a stock repurchase program allowing the company to buy back up to $100 million in shares, reflecting confidence in the company's valuation.
• Brokerages have raised their target prices for Ibotta stock, with Needham & Company projecting a rise to $70.00 and Goldman Sachs adjusting their target to $65.00.

ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ibotta, Inc. (NYSE:IBTA - Free Report) by 299.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 704,308 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 528,147 shares during the quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC owned 2.27% of Ibotta worth $29,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its stake in Ibotta by 68.8% during the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,053,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,458,000 after buying an additional 429,516 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ibotta by 67.2% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,043,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,047,000 after purchasing an additional 419,516 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ibotta in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,539,000. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ibotta by 1,608.5% in the 1st quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 63,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 59,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ibotta during the first quarter valued at $1,465,000.

Insider Transactions at Ibotta

In other Ibotta news, major shareholder Jermoluk Founders Fund I. Clark sold 1,578,502 shares of Ibotta stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $55,247,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,841,308 shares in the company, valued at $134,445,780. The trade was a 29.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Richard I. Donahue sold 85,289 shares of Ibotta stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $3,675,103.01. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 199,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,608,218.57. This trade represents a 29.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,192,224 shares of company stock valued at $78,652,577. 16.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ibotta Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:IBTA traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.56. 63,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,293. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.04. The company has a market cap of $950.64 million, a PE ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of -1.29. Ibotta, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.40 and a 12-month high of $79.80.

Ibotta (NYSE:IBTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $84.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.70 million. Ibotta had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 16.24%. Ibotta's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS.

Ibotta declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, June 9th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on IBTA. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Ibotta from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ibotta from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ibotta from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ibotta from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ibotta in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.60.

About Ibotta

Ibotta's mission is to Make Every Purchase Rewarding. Our technology allows CPG brands to deliver digital promotions to over 200 million consumers through a single, convenient network called the Ibotta Performance Network (IPN). We are pioneers in success-based marketing: we only get paid when our client's promotion results in a sale, not when a consumer merely views or clicks on the promotion.