Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 137,235 Shares of Groupon, Inc. $GRPN

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Groupon, Inc. by 43.8% in the first quarter, selling 137,235 shares and retaining a total of 175,973 shares worth $3,303,000.
• Increases in holdings were observed from several hedge funds, with Invesco Ltd. expanding its position by 351.8% to own 261,447 shares after purchasing an additional 203,585 shares.
• Groupon reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $0.46 EPS for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.48, despite a negative net margin of 1.89%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN - Free Report) by 43.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 175,973 shares of the coupon company's stock after selling 137,235 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.44% of Groupon worth $3,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Groupon by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 23,897 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Groupon by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 74,808 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Groupon by 383.5% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 2,949 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Groupon by 48,700.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,856 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Groupon by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 232,550 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 7,341 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Groupon in a report on Thursday, August 7th. They issued a "mixed" rating for the company. Roth Capital increased their target price on Groupon from $33.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Northland Securities lifted their target price on Groupon from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Groupon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.80.

Groupon Price Performance

Groupon stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $22.79. 1,469,454 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,289,549. Groupon, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.75 and a 12-month high of $43.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.02. The company has a market cap of $921.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The coupon company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.48. Groupon had a negative net margin of 1.89% and a negative return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $125.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.46 million. Equities analysts forecast that Groupon, Inc. will post -0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Groupon Profile

Groupon, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a marketplace that connects consumers to merchants. It operates in two segments, North America and International. The company sells goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. It serves customers through its mobile applications and websites.