Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Groupon has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold”, based on coverage from five analysts. The breakdown includes two sell ratings, one hold, and two buy recommendations, with an average 12-month price target of $19.50.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: Citigroup kept an outperform rating, while Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen issued or downgraded to sell. Goldman Sachs maintained a sell rating with a $13 target, and Northland Securities set a more bullish $26 target.
• The stock recently traded at $27.95, above its stated analyst average target, after reporting a quarterly EPS miss of $0.32 versus expectations for a $0.02 loss and revenue slightly below estimates. Institutional ownership remains high, with 90.05% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutions.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.50.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GRPN. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Groupon in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Groupon in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Groupon from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $13.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Groupon in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $26.00 target price on shares of Groupon in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Groupon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. raised its stake in shares of Groupon by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 528,089 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $9,300,000 after acquiring an additional 314,896 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Groupon by 764.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 197,546 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $3,479,000 after purchasing an additional 174,705 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Groupon by 125.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 41,501 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 23,072 shares during the period. Potomac Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Groupon during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,633,000. Finally, Manatuck Hill Partners LLC bought a new position in Groupon during the 4th quarter valued at about $678,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Groupon Price Performance

NASDAQ:GRPN opened at $27.95 on Tuesday. Groupon has a 1 year low of $9.17 and a 1 year high of $43.08. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $20.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.10. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 0.23.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The coupon company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $117.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $117.65 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Groupon will post -0.16 EPS for the current year.

Groupon Company Profile

Groupon, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects subscribers with local merchants offering discounted goods, services and experiences. Through its website and mobile applications, Groupon provides time-limited deals across categories such as restaurants, travel, beauty and wellness, home services, and consumer products. Merchants partner with Groupon to attract new customers and drive foot traffic, leveraging the platform's targeted marketing tools and large subscriber base to promote special offers and vouchers.

Founded in Chicago in 2008 by Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, Groupon pioneered the daily-deals model, quickly growing its user community and merchant network.

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