Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 12,286 Shares of Groupon, Inc. $GRPN

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Groupon, Inc. by 0.9%, selling 12,286 shares and now owning 1,431,642 shares valued at approximately $26.87 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in Groupon, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., which expanded its position by 115.6% during the last quarter.
• Groupon's stock has fluctuated significantly, with a 12-month low of $7.75 and a high of $43.08, currently trading at around $26.39.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,431,642 shares of the coupon company's stock after selling 12,286 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 3.60% of Groupon worth $26,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRPN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Groupon by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,559 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 78,423 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Groupon by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 12,519 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 3,342 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Groupon by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,652 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Groupon in the first quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Groupon by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 23,897 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GRPN has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Groupon in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. They issued a "mixed" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Groupon from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Northland Securities boosted their target price on Groupon from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Groupon from $9.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Roth Capital boosted 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.80.

Groupon Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GRPN traded down $1.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.48. 990,478 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,484,275. Groupon, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.75 and a 52 week high of $43.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.16. The company has a market cap of $989.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -102.00 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.82.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The coupon company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.48. The business had revenue of $125.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.46 million. Groupon had a negative return on equity of 19.61% and a negative net margin of 1.89%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Groupon, Inc. will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Groupon

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.