Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys New Position in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management initiated a Spotify position in the second quarter, purchasing 2,987 shares valued at approximately $1.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own 84.09% of the company.
• Spotify reported quarterly earnings of $2.98 per share, below the $3.16 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $5.45 billion, also slightly under estimates but up 13.9% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $609.05, compared with a recent share price of $491.05. Insiders sold 116,878 shares worth approximately $59.1 million during the latest quarter.

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,363,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SPOT. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Spotify Technology by 5.7% in the 3rd 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. Objectivity Squared LLC grew its holdings in Spotify Technology by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the company's stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Condor Capital Management increased its stake in Spotify Technology by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 990 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 0.7% during the first quarter. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

SPOT opened at $491.05 on Tuesday. Spotify Technology has a 1 year low of $405.00 and a 1 year high of $745.00. The company has a market capitalization of $101.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.58. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $483.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $484.68.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 41.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.42) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 14.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.45, for a total transaction of $9,967,548.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,692,918.55. This trade represents a 50.70% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Thomas O. Staggs sold 5,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.00, for a total value of $2,880,902.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,903,594. This represents a 60.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 116,878 shares of company stock valued at $59,081,110 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on SPOT shares. Pivotal Research reduced their target price on Spotify Technology from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Spotify Technology in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Spotify Technology in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.05.

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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