Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) Trading Down 9.8% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Groupon fell 9.8% on Thursday to about $14.36, with roughly 692,510 shares trading (down ~52% from its average daily volume).
• Analyst views are mixed: Goldman Sachs cut its price target to $10 and rated the stock "sell", while MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" and an average price target of $33.67.
• Latest quarter missed expectations—EPS $0.17 vs. $0.19 expected and revenue $132.7M vs. $137.3M—while the company reported a negative net margin (-16.76%) and very negative return on equity (-717.37%).

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 9.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $14.54 and last traded at $14.3610. Approximately 692,510 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 1,443,791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GRPN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Groupon in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Groupon presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.67.

Groupon Stock Down 14.2%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.67. The company has a market cap of $530.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.44 and a beta of -0.04.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $137.34 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Groupon, Inc. will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Groupon

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Groupon during the first quarter worth about $540,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Groupon by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 270,682 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $3,221,000 after acquiring an additional 73,136 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Groupon by 125.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 41,501 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 23,072 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Groupon by 135.9% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,185 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Groupon by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,588 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,968 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company's stock.

About Groupon

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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