Spotify Technology $SPOT Stock: Aberdeen Group plc Reduces Stake

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group cut its Spotify stake by 32% in the third quarter, selling 68,703 shares; it retained 146,253 shares valued at about $71.3 million.
• Spotify reported quarterly EPS of $2.81, below the $3.18 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 16.3% year over year to $5.63 billion, slightly under forecasts.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average price target of $620.07; 23 analysts rate the stock Buy, nine Hold, and one Sell.

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its stake in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,253 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,703 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.07% of Spotify Technology worth $71,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Spotify Technology by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,711,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $829,641,000 after acquiring an additional 286,844 shares during the last quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Tiger Global Management LLC now owns 1,580,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $766,527,000 after acquiring an additional 319,300 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,104,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $535,575,000 after acquiring an additional 183,994 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Spotify Technology by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 749,495 shares of the company's stock worth $363,415,000 after acquiring an additional 13,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in Spotify Technology by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 605,199 shares of the company's stock worth $277,865,000 after acquiring an additional 32,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spotify Technology news, CEO Gustav Söderström sold 20,913 shares of Spotify Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.19, for a total value of $11,380,645.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,897,404.75. The trade was a 51.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 62,733 shares of company stock valued at $34,998,490 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

NYSE:SPOT opened at $611.79 on Friday. Spotify Technology has a fifty-two week low of $405.00 and a fifty-two week high of $654.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.96 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.49. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $542.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $502.95.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.18 by ($0.37). Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.74% and a return on equity of 35.64%. The business had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.28 earnings per share. Spotify Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post 13.60 earnings per share for the current year.

Recent Spotify Technology Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about SPOT:

• Positive Sentiment: Spotify launched audiobooks in India, offering 15 listening hours per month for Rs 199 and titles in eight languages. The move expands its paid audio offering in a large market and could support subscriber engagement and revenue growth. Article: Spotify introduces audiobooks in India
• Positive Sentiment: The company added nine AI DJ voices, including an Indian-accented option, and gave Premium users a setting to reduce or disable commentary. These personalization updates may improve the listening experience and help retain users. Article: Spotify adds AI DJ voices and commentary controls
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Gustav Söderström sold 20,910 shares, reducing his reported stake by 51.37%. The filing says the sale covered tax withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards, which makes it a less direct bearish signal than a sale explicitly made for investment reasons. SEC filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $490.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $695.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $680.00 to $660.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $527.00 price target on shares of Spotify Technology in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Spotify Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Spotify Technology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $620.07.

About Spotify Technology

Spotify Technology operates a digital audio streaming platform offering music, podcasts and audiobooks. Listeners can use the service through a free, advertising-supported option or paid subscriptions, with features for discovering, organizing and sharing audio content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, Spotify launched its streaming service in 2008. The company serves listeners and creators in markets around the world and provides tools and services for artists, podcasters, authors and other content partners.

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