Baillie Gifford & Co. Acquires Shares of 1,991,397 Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. has acquired 1,991,397 shares of Amplitude, Inc., valued at approximately $20.29 million, giving it a 2.02% stake in the company.
• Several other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase, have also increased their holdings in Amplitude, indicating strong institutional interest, with 73.20% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $13.50 for Amplitude, with varied ratings; five analysts suggest holding the stock, while seven recommend buying.

Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Amplitude, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMPL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,991,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,292,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 2.02% of Amplitude at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMPL. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Amplitude in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Amplitude by 176.5% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 4,147 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Amplitude by 255.0% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Amplitude by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,172 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP bought a new position in Amplitude in the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,000. 73.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amplitude Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Amplitude stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 284,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,302. Amplitude, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.37 and a 1-year high of $14.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.90 and a beta of 1.54.

Amplitude (NASDAQ:AMPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.16). Amplitude had a negative return on equity of 32.50% and a negative net margin of 31.01%. The firm had revenue of $79.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share. Amplitude's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amplitude, Inc. will post -0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMPL. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Amplitude in a report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Amplitude from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Amplitude from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Amplitude from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Amplitude from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eric Vishria sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.15, for a total value of $253,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 261,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,868.85. This trade represents a 8.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Erica Schultz sold 7,500 shares of Amplitude stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.56, for a total value of $94,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 107,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,019.36. This trade represents a 6.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 70,911 shares of company stock valued at $825,102. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amplitude Company Profile

Amplitude, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a digital analytics platform that analyzes customer behavior in the United States and internationally. It offers Amplitude Analytics, which provides real-time product data and reconstructed user visits; Amplitude Experiment, a solution that allows teams to test new capabilities and safely roll out new features; Amplitude CDP, an insight-driven solution that encompasses the data infrastructure, audience management, and data streaming capabilities; and Amplitude Session Replay used by product, marketing, and data teams to understand user behavior, diagnose product issues, and improve product outcomes.