Ibotta (NYSE:IBTA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Ibotta from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the stock also rose 3.7% in Monday trading. Overall analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.
• Ibotta posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.24 versus estimates for a loss, on revenue of $82.48 million. However, revenue still declined 2.5% year over year and profitability remained negative.
• The company has a $100 million share buyback authorization, which covers up to 21.2% of outstanding shares and may signal management believes the stock is undervalued. At the same time, several insiders have sold shares recently, even as institutional investors like Vanguard and ARK increased their stakes.

Ibotta (NYSE:IBTA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

IBTA has been the subject of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Ibotta from $33.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Ibotta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ibotta from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Ibotta in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ibotta in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $33.00.

Ibotta Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE:IBTA opened at $33.27 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.51 and a 200 day moving average of $26.67. The stock has a market cap of $672.05 million, a P/E ratio of -97.85 and a beta of -0.59. Ibotta has a 12 month low of $19.10 and a 12 month high of $49.99.

Ibotta (NYSE:IBTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $82.48 million during the quarter. Ibotta had a negative net margin of 2.15% and a negative return on equity of 2.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ibotta will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ibotta declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 21.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ibotta

In other Ibotta news, CTO Luke Roy Swanson sold 5,940 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.98, for a total value of $195,901.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 495,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,352,935.12. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Thomas D. Lehrman sold 30,119 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.78, for a total transaction of $927,062.82. Following the sale, the director owned 40,744 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,254,100.32. The trade was a 42.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 107,701 shares of company stock worth $3,419,255 over the last three months. Insiders own 20.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ibotta

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Ibotta by 3,449.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 369,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,408,000 after purchasing an additional 359,470 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ibotta by 90.2% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 641,337 shares of the company's stock worth $17,861,000 after buying an additional 304,183 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ibotta by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 907,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,271,000 after buying an additional 255,899 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ibotta by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,570,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,749,000 after buying an additional 232,027 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Ibotta in the 2nd quarter worth $8,397,000.

About Ibotta

Ibotta NYSE: IBTA is a Denver‐based mobile commerce platform that connects consumers, retailers and brands through a unified cash-back rewards experience. Users access the Ibotta mobile app or browser extension to unlock rebates on everyday purchases, redeemable on groceries, retail goods, travel bookings and digital services. The platform integrates with major supermarket chains, big‐box retailers and online merchants, enabling shoppers to earn automatic cash-back both in physical stores and across e-commerce channels.

Founded in 2012 by co‐founder and CEO Bryan Leach, Ibotta has evolved from a simple rebate app into a comprehensive performance marketing partner for consumer goods companies.

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