North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $3.15 Million in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Spotify Technology, buying 5,416 shares worth about $3.15 million in the fourth quarter.
• Spotify’s latest quarterly results were stronger than expected, with EPS of $4.04 versus estimates of $3.41 and revenue of $5.25 billion, up 8.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive but have trimmed some targets: Spotify currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $645.77, while several firms recently lowered their targets.

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,145,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Spotify Technology by 5.7% in the third quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Spotify Technology by 6.3% in the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Spotify Technology by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Spotify Technology by 7.9% in the third quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 260 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Spotify Technology by 3.1% in the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 633 shares of the company's stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 84.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPOT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Arete Research raised shares of Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $735.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Spotify Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Spotify Technology in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spotify Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $645.77.

Spotify Technology Stock Up 1.7%

SPOT stock opened at $444.28 on Tuesday. Spotify Technology has a fifty-two week low of $405.00 and a fifty-two week high of $785.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $485.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.22. The stock has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.55.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Spotify Technology

In related news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $8,973,189.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,492 shares in the company, valued at $8,826,314.24. This represents a 50.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total transaction of $2,606,616.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 69,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,560,425.39. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,102 shares of company stock worth $21,444,648. 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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