William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 60,576 Shares of Spotify Technology $SPOT

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management reduced its Spotify stake by 21.5% in Q4, selling 60,576 shares and leaving it with 221,748 shares valued at about $128.8 million. Despite the sale, institutional ownership remains high at 84.09%.
• Spotify insiders also sold shares recently, including CEO Gustav Soderstrom and CEO Alex Norstrom, with insiders selling a combined 47,102 shares worth about $21.4 million over the past 90 days. Company insiders now hold just 0.40% of the stock.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on Spotify after its latest earnings beat, with the stock reporting $4.04 EPS on $5.25 billion in revenue and several firms raising or maintaining strong ratings and high price targets. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a target price of $652.46.

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,748 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,576 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Spotify Technology worth $128,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SPOT. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Spotify Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $312,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Spotify Technology by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Spotify Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $178,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Spotify Technology by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,707,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co bought a new position in Spotify Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $298,000. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Spotify Technology

In related news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $8,973,189.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,826,314.24. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 business's 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 $33,560,425.39. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 47,102 shares of company stock worth $21,444,648 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Spotify Technology

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

• Positive Sentiment: Spotify announced a new AI partnership with Universal Music Group that will let Premium users create licensed AI-generated covers and remixes, opening a potential new revenue stream while giving artists a cut of the economics. Spotify strikes deal with Universal Music to let premium users create AI covers, remixes
• Positive Sentiment: Management reinforced a bullish 2030 outlook, calling for mid-teens annual revenue growth and gross margins of 35% to 40%, which supports the argument that profitability can keep improving. Spotify stock pops on guidance at first investor day since 2022
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised price targets after the event, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Citizens JMP, and Jefferies, signaling stronger confidence in Spotify’s growth story. Analyst target hikes
• Positive Sentiment: Spotify also introduced new product features tied to engagement and monetization, including AI-generated podcasts, audiobook tools, and reserved concert tickets for top fans, which could deepen user activity and subscription value. Spotify adds AI-powered Q&A and briefing generation features to podcasts
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha opinion piece argued Spotify’s long-term path deserves a premium valuation, but this is more commentary than a new fundamental catalyst. Spotify's Path Forward Deserves This Premium
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha note warned that weaker advertising trends could be a concern, suggesting ad-market softness may remain a headwind even as Spotify’s premium business improves. Spotify: Weaker Advertising Trends Are Becoming A Concern (Downgrade)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SPOT. Daiwa Securities Group began coverage on Spotify Technology in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Spotify Technology from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Spotify Technology from $670.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Spotify Technology from $745.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Spotify Technology from $750.00 to $720.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $652.46.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

NYSE SPOT opened at $518.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.35, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.55. Spotify Technology has a one year low of $405.00 and a one year high of $785.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $479.80 and its 200-day moving average is $523.86.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.63. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 15.56%.The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post 14.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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