Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus "Hold" — Five brokerages give Groupon an average rating of "Hold" (2 sell, 1 hold, 2 buy) with a 1‑year average price target of $33.67, and Goldman Sachs recently cut its target to $10 and rated the stock "sell".
• Earnings missed estimates — Groupon reported $0.17 EPS versus $0.19 expected and revenue of $132.7M versus $137.3M, and the company shows negative profitability metrics (negative ROE and a -16.76% net margin).
• Stock and ownership — Shares opened at $15.85 (trading up ~5.1%) with a market cap around $615M, and institutional investors hold about 90.05% of the stock with several funds recently increasing positions.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.6667.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Groupon from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRPN. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Groupon during the 1st quarter worth about $224,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Groupon by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,606 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 10,588 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Groupon by 1,098.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 26,658 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 24,433 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Groupon by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 36,632 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Groupon by 47.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,073 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 15,177 shares in the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Groupon Trading Up 5.1%

GRPN stock opened at $15.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $614.98 million, a P/E ratio of -7.48 and a beta of 0.11. Groupon has a 12 month low of $9.17 and a 12 month high of $43.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.26.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The coupon company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.02). Groupon had a negative return on equity of 717.37% and a negative net margin of 16.76%.The company had revenue of $132.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.34 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Groupon will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal 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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