First Trust Advisors LP Sells 115,098 Shares of Symbotic Inc. $SYM

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors reduced its Symbotic stake by 27.2%, selling 115,098 shares and retaining 308,535 shares worth approximately $16.4 million.
• Institutional sentiment was mixed: Vanguard, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley significantly increased their holdings, while Symbotic insiders sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Symbotic’s revenue grew 23.1% year over year to $676.5 million, beating estimates, but EPS missed expectations and recent analyst actions pushed the overall consensus rating to Hold with a $66.50 average price target.

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM - Free Report) by 27.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,535 shares of the company's stock after selling 115,098 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.05% of Symbotic worth $16,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Symbotic by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,932,158 shares of the company's stock worth $412,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,237,137 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Symbotic by 51,346.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,174,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,615 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Symbotic by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,530,874 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,513 shares in the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Symbotic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,034,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Symbotic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,997,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Todd Krasnow sold 2,000 shares of Symbotic stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.92, for a total transaction of $87,840.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider William M. Boyd III sold 9,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.04, for a total value of $377,321.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 57,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,876.48. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,970 shares of company stock worth $5,561,616. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SYM shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Symbotic from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Symbotic in a research report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Symbotic from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Symbotic from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.50.

Key Stories Impacting Symbotic

Here are the key news stories impacting Symbotic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Symbotic’s latest quarterly revenue rose 23.1% year over year to approximately $676.5 million, exceeding analyst expectations of about $662.7 million. Several analysts still maintain Buy ratings, with the consensus price target substantially above the current trading level. Symbotic’s Earnings Beat Reignites Upside Talk
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional investors, including Vanguard, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, increased their Symbotic positions in the latest reported quarter, suggesting continued long-term institutional interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Maria Freve sold 2,244 shares for roughly $90,000, while CTO James Kuffner and SVP Brian Alexander also reported sales. The filings said the transactions were intended to cover tax withholding obligations related to vested equity awards, reducing their significance as a signal of deteriorating business confidence. Symbotic Insider Transaction
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s latest earnings per share came in at $0.01, below the $0.12 consensus estimate. Symbotic also reported a slightly negative net margin and return on equity, reinforcing concerns that strong revenue growth has not yet translated into consistent profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent research actions have become more cautious: Goldman Sachs lowered its price target and retained a Sell rating, while Zacks Research downgraded the stock to Strong Sell. The consensus rating remains Hold despite several Buy recommendations.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales disclosed over the past several days added to selling pressure, even though most were linked to tax obligations. The stock’s elevated valuation relative to current earnings and high volatility may also be prompting investors to reduce exposure.

Symbotic Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SYM opened at $40.34 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $43.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -806.64, a PEG ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.93. Symbotic Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.19 and a 52-week high of $87.88.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.11). Symbotic had a negative return on equity of 0.68% and a negative net margin of 0.20%.The business had revenue of $676.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $662.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. Symbotic's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Symbotic Inc. will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Symbotic Company Profile

Symbotic Inc NASDAQ: SYM is a provider of advanced warehouse automation and robotics systems designed to improve throughput, space utilization and labor productivity in distribution centers and fulfillment operations. The company develops integrated hardware and software solutions that automate the storage, retrieval, sorting and palletizing of goods, positioning itself as a systems integrator for material handling challenges faced by large-scale retailers, wholesalers and third-party logistics providers.

Products and services typically include autonomous robotic vehicles and shuttle systems, automated storage-and-retrieval equipment, robotic picking and palletizing cells, conveyors and sortation, together with control and management software that coordinates fleet operations and inventory flow.

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