California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Holdings in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System cut its Spotify stake by 21.4% in the first quarter, selling 58,862 shares and ending with 215,931 shares worth about $104.7 million.
• Despite that sale, Spotify remains widely held by institutions: hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the stock, and several funds increased their positions during the quarter.
• Wall Street sentiment is still constructive, with analysts maintaining mostly Buy/Overweight ratings and a consensus price target of $638.58, while Spotify’s latest earnings beat estimates on both EPS and revenue.

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 21.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,931 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,862 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Spotify Technology worth $104,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SPOT. Future Fund LLC boosted its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 91.9% during the first quarter. Future Fund LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. raised its position in Spotify Technology by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 3,380 shares of the company's stock worth $1,639,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Spotify Technology by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 984 shares of the company's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Spotify Technology during the 1st quarter valued at about $562,000. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 259.5% during the 1st quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on SPOT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $750.00 to $720.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Spotify Technology has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $638.58.

Spotify Technology Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of SPOT stock opened at $478.86 on Friday. Spotify Technology has a 12 month low of $405.00 and a 12 month high of $748.30. The stock has a market cap of $98.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $476.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $491.73.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Spotify Technology

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

• Positive Sentiment: Spotify unveiled a new AI assistant that lets users find songs, build playlists, and explore podcasts using natural language, which could improve engagement and support premium user growth. Spotify's new AI assistant lets you find songs, create playlists and explore podcasts using natural language
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating and a $600 price target ahead of earnings, signaling continued confidence in Spotify’s long-term growth and AI-related product roadmap. Spotify seen delivering steady Q2 results as investors await AI remixing updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Spotify was highlighted in an investor letter as having robust results, suggesting institutional investors still see the company as a strong operator despite recent market noise. Market Overlooked Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) Despite Robust Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Spotify partnered with Back Market for a back-to-school promotion, expanding brand visibility but with limited direct financial impact. Back Market Kicks Off Back-to-School Season with Survey Revealing How Parents Are Redefining the Smart Tech Purchase - And Debuting New Partnerships with Duolingo and Spotify
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks said Spotify’s growth story remains intact, but warned that a rich valuation, high royalty costs, and intensifying competition make the risk/reward less attractive. Spotify's Growth Story Is Intact, but Faces Valuation Threat
• Negative Sentiment: Spotify also faced criticism after Lorde slammed the company over sloppy AI-generated song descriptions, adding a reputational headwind around its AI rollout. Lorde slams Spotify over sloppy AI-generated song descriptions

Insider Activity at Spotify Technology

In other Spotify Technology news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total transaction of $8,973,189.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,826,314.24. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.86, for a total value of $1,377,629.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,099,714.54. This represents a 39.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 111,442 shares of company stock valued at $54,757,553 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Spotify Technology 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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