Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 2,618,522 Shares of Unity Software Inc. $U

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Unity Software stake by 9,886.8% in the third quarter, acquiring 2.62 million additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 2.65 million shares worth approximately $108.3 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.46% of Unity, while analysts maintain a generally positive outlook. The stock has an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $48.01.
• Unity reported quarterly revenue of $546.5 million, up 24% year over year, and earnings of $0.28 per share, exceeding analyst expectations. However, shares were trading down 7% at $40.31, and insiders sold roughly $4.9 million of stock over the past three months.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U - Free Report) by 9,886.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,645,007 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,618,522 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.60% of Unity Software worth $108,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atreides Management LP acquired a new stake in Unity Software in the second quarter valued at approximately $292,826,000. Resolute Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Software by 473.3% in the 2nd quarter. Resolute Advisors LLC now owns 4,766,219 shares of the company's stock worth $136,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,934,840 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Software by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,245,014 shares of the company's stock worth $93,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465,962 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Software by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,334,695 shares of the company's stock worth $66,726,000 after purchasing an additional 105,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avala Global LP acquired a new stake in Unity Software in the 2nd quarter valued at $62,522,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Unity Software in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Unity Software in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Unity Software from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Unity Software from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Unity Software from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.01.

Unity Software Trading Down 7.0%

Shares of U opened at $40.31 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.41. The company has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. Unity Software Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.78 and a 1-year high of $52.15.

Unity Software (NYSE:U - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.39. Unity Software had a positive return on equity of 4.64% and a negative net margin of 28.97%. The firm had revenue of $546.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $514.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Unity Software Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rebecca Boyden sold 1,032 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.32, for a total value of $46,770.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 308,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,977,277.16. This trade represents a 0.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Alexander Blum sold 43,556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.51, for a total transaction of $1,895,121.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 661,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,797,311.05. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 109,547 shares of company stock worth $4,884,202. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Unity Software

Unity Software Inc develops software and services for creating, operating and monetizing interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content. Its platform is widely used to build video games for mobile devices, personal computers, consoles and the web, as well as applications for industries such as automotive, architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing and entertainment.

The company's core offering is the Unity development platform, which includes tools for graphics, physics, animation, audio, scripting and cross-platform deployment.

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