Spotify Technology $SPOT Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC cut its Spotify Technology stake by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 87,802 shares and leaving it with 71,396 shares valued at about $41.46 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Barclays, Daiwa, and Arete all issuing bullish calls or higher price targets; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $655.92.
• Spotify reported strong quarterly results, posting $4.04 EPS versus $3.41 expected and revenue of $5.25 billion, while the stock was trading down 2.6% at $488.24 in Thursday trading.

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 55.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,396 shares of the company's stock after selling 87,802 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $41,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AXQ Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 152.7% during the fourth quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 1,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 14,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,330,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 10,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,938,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 53,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,166,000 after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXS Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 4,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SPOT. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group began coverage on shares of Spotify Technology in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $535.00 price target on the stock. 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. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $745.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Pivotal Research lowered their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $655.92.

Spotify Technology Trading Down 2.6%

SPOT stock opened at $488.24 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $100.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.90, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.56. Spotify Technology has a 12 month low of $405.00 and a 12 month high of $785.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $480.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $516.21.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 35.73%. Spotify Technology's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spotify Technology news, 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 value of $2,606,616.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon sold 35,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.73, for a total transaction of $18,600,327.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 111,442 shares of company stock worth $54,647,508 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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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