Guggenheim Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for New York Times (NYSE:NYT) Stock

Key Points

• Guggenheim raised its NYT price target to $70 (from $63) but kept a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 13.6% downside from current levels; the analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $80.78.
• Q1 earnings beat: NYT reported EPS of $0.61 (vs. $0.49 est.) and revenue of $712.2M (up ~12% y/y), driven by a ~31.6% surge in digital advertising and +310k net digital-only subscribers, underpinning management's profitable digital growth thesis.
• Near-term headwinds: insiders have trimmed holdings and put buying spiked sharply, and an EEOC lawsuit alleging discrimination creates a legal/reputational overhang, even as large institutions (including a new Berkshire stake) hold the majority of shares.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Guggenheim from $63.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Guggenheim's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 13.60% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NYT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on New York Times from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of New York Times in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of New York Times in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $90.00 target price on New York Times in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Argus raised New York Times to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, New York Times presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.78.

New York Times Trading Down 3.2%

NYT stock traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $81.02. The stock had a trading volume of 994,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,291,847. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $81.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.98. The company has a market cap of $13.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.98. New York Times has a 52-week low of $51.03 and a 52-week high of $87.10.

New York Times (NYSE:NYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $712.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.93 million. New York Times had a return on equity of 20.73% and a net margin of 12.18%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that New York Times will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO R Anthony Benten sold 1,913 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $140,739.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 37,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,778,886.04. This trade represents a 4.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Bardeen sold 13,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.56, for a total value of $1,034,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,486,260.36. The trade was a 41.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $2,214,369 in the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of New York Times

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NYT. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in shares of New York Times during the 4th quarter worth about $351,664,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of New York Times by 10,018.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,316,172 shares of the company's stock worth $160,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293,281 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in New York Times by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,187,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836,788 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new position in New York Times during the 4th quarter valued at about $97,882,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in New York Times by 98.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,055,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,031 shares during the period. 95.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New York Times News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting New York Times this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat: NYT reported revenue of $712.2M (up ~12%) and EPS of $0.61, topping estimates; management cited a 31.6% surge in digital advertising and +310k net digital-only subscribers, which underpins recurring revenue growth. The New York Times Q1 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Management signaled profitable digital growth on the earnings call and slide deck, reinforcing the narrative that subscription + ad momentum is translating to margin expansion. TipRanks: Profitable Digital Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed: some note impressive ad acceleration but argue a further multiple expansion (rerating) is unlikely without sustained beats — a signal that upside may be more operational than valuation-driven. Seeking Alpha: Impressive Ad Acceleration
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and investor materials are available for detailed KPIs and management guidance — useful for investors who want to dig into ARPU, churn, and regional ad trends. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: the U.S. (EEOC) has sued The New York Times alleging discrimination in a promotion decision — a reputational and legal overhang that can pressure the stock depending on developments. NYTimes: EEOC Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity: a large surge in put buying (roughly +230% vs. average daily put volume) suggests some traders are hedging or taking a bearish view in the near term, adding downward pressure on the shares.

New York Times Company Profile

The New York Times Company is a publicly traded media organization best known for publishing The New York Times newspaper and operating the NYTimes.com digital platform. The company produces daily print and digital journalism covering national and international news, opinion pieces, feature stories, and multimedia content. Alongside its flagship newspaper, the firm offers a range of subscription-based services, including Times Cooking, NYT Games, podcasts and newsletters, designed to engage a broad audience of readers and advertisers.

Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, The New York Times has built a reputation for in-depth reporting and investigative journalism.

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