Fred Alger Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC reduced its Spotify stake by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 36,589 shares and leaving it with 463,612 shares valued at about $269.2 million.
• Hedge funds remain heavily invested in Spotify, with institutional investors owning 84.09% of the company’s stock despite some recent buying and selling activity.
• Spotify’s latest quarter showed strong earnings growth, with EPS of $4.04 beating estimates and revenue rising 8.2% year over year, even as insiders have sold shares and analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus.

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its holdings in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 463,612 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,589 shares during the period. Spotify Technology comprises 1.1% of Fred Alger Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.23% of Spotify Technology worth $269,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Spotify Technology during the second quarter valued at about $312,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Spotify Technology by 5.2% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Spotify Technology during the second quarter valued at about $178,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Spotify Technology by 36.9% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co bought a new stake in Spotify Technology during the second quarter valued at about $298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $745.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Pivotal Research dropped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Spotify Technology from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $652.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spotify Technology news, Director Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon sold 35,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.73, for a total value of $18,600,327.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,355,734.59. The trade was a 84.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christopher P. Marshall sold 2,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,099,714.54. The trade was a 39.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 111,442 shares of company stock valued at $54,647,508 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Spotify Technology Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:SPOT opened at $470.81 on Wednesday. Spotify Technology has a 12-month low of $405.00 and a 12-month high of $785.00. The company has a market capitalization of $96.93 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $482.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $508.74.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 15.56%.The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. Spotify Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Spotify Technology will post 14.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Spotify Technology

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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