Needham & Company LLC Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Needham & Company cut Montrose Environmental Group’s price target to $23 from $28 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying roughly 32% upside from the stock’s $17.42 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Montrose has an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $19.50, with recent downgrades from Barclays and Bank of America.
• The stock rose 15.4% on Friday, while insiders purchased 36,535 shares worth approximately $610,000 over the past 90 days; institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.87% of shares.

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $28.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would suggest a potential upside of 32.03% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Montrose Environmental Group from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Montrose Environmental Group in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of Montrose Environmental Group in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lowered Montrose Environmental Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Montrose Environmental Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Montrose Environmental Group currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $19.50.

Montrose Environmental Group Stock Up 15.4%

Shares of NYSE:ONT traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,180,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,920. Montrose Environmental Group has a 1 year low of $12.68 and a 1 year high of $31.22. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.11 and its 200-day moving average is $20.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $629.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84.

Insider Activity at Montrose Environmental Group

In related news, CFO Allan Dicks acquired 6,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.36 per share, with a total value of $100,377.60. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 218,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,351,214.08. The trade was a 3.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Peter Graham bought 25,140 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.19 per share, with a total value of $432,156.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 256,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,412,483.91. This represents a 10.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 36,535 shares of company stock worth $610,003 over the last 90 days. 10.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Montrose Environmental Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Montrose Environmental Group by 39.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 326,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,663,000 after purchasing an additional 92,671 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Montrose Environmental Group by 27.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 57,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 12,566 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 13.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 152,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,329,000 after purchasing an additional 17,601 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 245.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 383,661 shares of the company's stock worth $8,398,000 after buying an additional 272,444 shares during the last quarter. 87.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Montrose Environmental Group Company Profile

Montrose Environmental Group NYSE: MEG is a global provider of environmental technical and monitoring services, delivering solutions for site assessment, remediation, compliance and long-term environmental stewardship. The company serves a broad range of industries, including energy, manufacturing, chemicals, mining and government agencies, supporting clients with risk management strategies, regulatory permitting and environmental permitting.

Montrose's core offerings encompass environmental consulting, engineering design, field sampling and laboratory analysis, plus innovative digital monitoring platforms.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source