Avala Global LP Boosts Stake in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• Avala Global increased its stake in Spotify by 75% in Q3 to 41,300 shares worth $28.83 million, making SPOT its 27th-largest holding (about 1.2% of the fund).
• Several large institutions also added or initiated sizable positions—including Norges Bank, Capital World Investors, Principal Financial and Fisher Asset Management—leaving hedge funds and other institutions owning roughly 84.09% of Spotify's stock.
• Spotify recently beat estimates with Q4 EPS $5.16 vs. $3.16 expected and revenue $5.32B vs. $5.14B, and the stock carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $703.87.

Avala Global LP increased its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 75.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,300 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,700 shares during the period. Spotify Technology makes up about 1.2% of Avala Global LP's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Avala Global LP's holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $28,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SPOT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Spotify Technology in the 2nd quarter worth about $768,915,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Spotify Technology by 40.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,730,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,906,260,000 after purchasing an additional 789,755 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in Spotify Technology in the third quarter valued at approximately $512,190,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 3,534.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 571,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,889,000 after buying an additional 555,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 22.7% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,489,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,909,920,000 after buying an additional 460,115 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPOT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Spotify Technology in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $860.00 to $760.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Spotify Technology from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $830.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Spotify Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $703.87.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPOT opened at $516.14 on Friday. Spotify Technology has a 1 year low of $405.00 and a 1 year high of $785.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.26 billion, a PE ratio of 53.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.66. The business's 50 day moving average price is $502.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $595.37.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 13.16%.The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post 10.3 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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