VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems opened a new position in Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter, buying 8,560 shares valued at about $4.97 million.
• Spotify is seeing mixed business news: it plans to adopt Apple’s HLS video podcast technology to make cross-platform distribution easier, but it also cut subscription prices in India, which could help growth while pressuring revenue per user.
• The stock has been supported by solid recent results, as Spotify beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, but investor sentiment remains under pressure from weaker premium subscriber and ad revenue trends plus a related securities investigation.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,971,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its stake in Spotify Technology by 3,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spotify Technology in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 84.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spotify Technology News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Spotify Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Spotify said it will adopt Apple’s HLS video streaming technology for podcasts, allowing Spotify-hosted video shows to be distributed and monetized on Apple Podcasts with less friction for creators. That could broaden reach, improve creator tools, and make Spotify’s podcast ecosystem more attractive. TechCrunch article
• Positive Sentiment: The cross-platform video podcast move may help Spotify strengthen engagement and monetize more content across both Spotify and Apple Podcasts, supporting its long-term platform strategy. 9to5Mac article
• Neutral Sentiment: Spotify also cut subscription prices in India and discontinued Premium Lite there, a sign of aggressive international pricing that could help user growth but may pressure near-term revenue per user. Moneycontrol article
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment may also be weighed by the recent Q1 disappointment, with weaker-than-expected premium subscriber additions and advertising revenue, plus a securities investigation tied to those results. Yahoo Finance article

Spotify Technology Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SPOT opened at $432.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.55. The company's fifty day moving average is $489.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $531.26. Spotify Technology has a fifty-two week low of $405.00 and a fifty-two week high of $785.00.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 14.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total transaction of $8,973,189.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,826,314.24. This represents a 50.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total transaction of $2,606,616.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,102 shares of company stock valued at $21,444,648. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp decreased 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. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $565.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Benchmark decreased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" 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-two have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $645.77.

Spotify Technology Company 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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