Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) Shares Up 6.3% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 6.3% to about $15.83 on Monday, but volume was very light (~128,215 shares, down ~91% versus the average session).
• Groupon remains unprofitable after the quarter — EPS $0.17 missed estimates, revenue $132.7M missed consensus, with a negative net margin (16.76%) and negative return on equity.
• Analyst views are mixed: Goldman Sachs cut its target to $10 and put a sell on the stock, while the MarketBeat consensus is a Hold with an average target of $33.67.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 6.3% on Monday . The company traded as high as $15.46 and last traded at $15.8310. 128,215 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 1,456,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Groupon from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.67.

Groupon Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $12.37 and its 200 day moving average is $15.33. The company has a market capitalization of $627.73 million, a PE ratio of -7.64 and a beta of 0.11.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The coupon company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.02). Groupon had a negative net margin of 16.76% and a negative return on equity of 717.37%. The firm had revenue of $132.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $137.34 million. On average, analysts forecast that Groupon, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Groupon

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GRPN. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Groupon during the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Groupon by 31.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,606 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $837,000 after buying an additional 10,588 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Groupon by 1,098.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 26,658 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 24,433 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Groupon by 9.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 36,632 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Groupon by 47.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,073 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 15,177 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

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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