HubSpot (NYSE:HUBS) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded HubSpot from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" while several analysts trimmed price targets; the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $426.97.
• HubSpot beat quarterly expectations (EPS $3.09 vs. $2.99; revenue $846.8M vs. $830.7M, +20.4% YoY) and rolled out a 2026 strategy and Spring product updates focused on AI (AEO, AI agents), which analysts view as potential revenue and retention drivers.
• Insiders sold about 26,691 shares (~$7.25M) over the last three months (insider ownership 4%), and the stock trades around $218.12 with a P/E of 250.7, substantially below its 12‑month high of $682.57 after a multi-month drawdown.

HubSpot (NYSE:HUBS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on HubSpot from $600.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on HubSpot from $280.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on HubSpot from $560.00 to $325.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on HubSpot from $517.00 to $442.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $485.00 target price on HubSpot in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.97.

HubSpot Stock Up 5.7%

NYSE HUBS opened at $218.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 250.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $244.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.01. HubSpot has a twelve month low of $187.45 and a twelve month high of $682.57.

HubSpot (NYSE:HUBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The software maker reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $846.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $830.65 million. HubSpot had a return on equity of 3.64% and a net margin of 1.47%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that HubSpot will post 1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at HubSpot

In other HubSpot news, insider Erika Ashley Fisher sold 841 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.01, for a total transaction of $200,166.41. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,119 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,408,423.19. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Brian Halligan sold 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.75, for a total value of $2,233,375.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 370,558 shares in the company, valued at $97,364,114.50. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 26,691 shares of company stock worth $7,250,662 over the last three months. 4.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HubSpot

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HUBS. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in HubSpot by 88.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the software maker's stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of HubSpot by 12.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,665,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of HubSpot by 4.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 23,754 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $13,222,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HubSpot during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of HubSpot by 35.0% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 376,076 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $209,335,000 after buying an additional 97,469 shares during the period. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key HubSpot News

Here are the key news stories impacting HubSpot this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined its 2026 strategy focused on AI agents, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and product integrations intended to drive net-new ARR expansion and higher customer productivity — investors see this as execution clarity on growth and monetization. HubSpot 2026 Strategy Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: HubSpot launched a suite of Spring 2026 updates (HubSpot AEO, AI agents, Smart Deal Progression and 100+ updates) positioning it to capture AI-driven shifts in buyer search and workflows — product releases are being read as revenue/retention catalysts. HubSpot Puts Growth Context to Work
• Positive Sentiment: Independent tech press highlights the new AEO tool and AI agents as differentiators for brands competing in AI search, which supports HubSpot’s TAM expansion narrative. Diginomica on AEO
• Positive Sentiment: SiliconANGLE and TechRepublic coverage reiterate the AI focus and practical use-cases for buyers/sellers, reinforcing the story that product innovation could translate to stronger adoption and upsells. SiliconANGLE AI Tools
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Needham via MSN) points to continued international and partner-driven growth in 2026, supporting upside to linear ARR guidance over time. Needham on International Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Research pieces (Zacks, Yahoo analyses) highlight HubSpot’s strong earnings-surprise history and classify it as a growth stock with the setup to beat again — supportive for near-term multiple re-rating if execution continues. Zacks Growth Stock Note
• Neutral Sentiment: A Yahoo feature weighing two reasons to like HUBS and one concern reminds investors that the stock has suffered a sharp multi-month drawdown; the piece is balanced and may temper enthusiasm until results confirm momentum. Yahoo: 2 Reasons to Like HUBS
• Negative Sentiment: New entrants (Clodura.AI’s Atlas) launch AI-native SDR platforms aimed at unifying outbound workflows — a competitive development that could create pressure in parts of HubSpot’s sales enablement and outbound tooling market. Clodura.AI Atlas Launch

HubSpot Company Profile

HubSpot, Inc is a software company that develops a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform designed to help organizations attract, engage and delight customers. Its primary business activities center on providing integrated marketing, sales and customer service tools that support inbound marketing strategies, content management, lead nurturing, sales automation and customer support workflows.

The company's product suite is organized around modular “hubs” built on a central CRM: Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, CMS Hub and Operations Hub.

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