KeyCorp Increases Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Price Target to $745.00

Key Points

• KeyCorp raised its price target on Spotify to $745 (from $740) and kept an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 43.21% upside from the prior close.
• Spotify posted a strong quarter with EPS of $5.16 vs. $3.16 expected and revenue of $5.32B (vs. $5.14B), delivering a 13.16% net margin and 31.35% return on equity.
• CEOs Gustav Soderstrom and Alex Norstrom sold shares on April 1 (combined proceeds ≈ $12.5M), while institutional ownership is high at about 84% and the consensus analyst target averages $690.17 ("Moderate Buy").

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at KeyCorp from $740.00 to $745.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. KeyCorp's target price points to a potential upside of 43.21% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on SPOT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $735.00 to $700.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Pivotal Research cut shares of Spotify Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $875.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $830.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Spotify Technology from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $650.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spotify Technology presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $690.17.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

SPOT stock opened at $520.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $107.10 billion, a PE ratio of 53.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.70. Spotify Technology has a 12 month low of $405.00 and a 12 month high of $785.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $487.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $560.90.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $2.00. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 31.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post 10.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.52, for a total transaction of $9,864,842.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,609 shares in the company, valued at $9,758,773.68. The trade was a 50.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total transaction of $2,606,616.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at $33,560,425.39. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spotify Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Spotify Technology by 5.7% in the third quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Spotify Technology by 6.3% in the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Spotify Technology by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Spotify Technology by 2.6% in the third quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 756 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Spotify Technology by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 260 shares of the company's stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 84.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spotify Technology Company Profile

Spotify Technology is a digital audio streaming company best known for its on-demand music service and a growing portfolio of spoken-word content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched commercially in 2008, the company offers a cross-platform app that enables users to discover, stream and organize music, podcasts and other audio. Its primary consumer products include a free, ad-supported tier and a paid Spotify Premium subscription that provides ad-free listening, offline playback and higher-quality audio streams.

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