StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Sets New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• StoneCo shares hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $9.07 and last changing hands near $9.12, below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: four analysts rate the stock Buy and six Hold, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and a $14.30 average price target.
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.47 versus $0.46 forecast, while institutional investors own a substantial 73.19% stake; an insider recently sold 21,000 shares.

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $9.07 and last traded at $9.1160, with a volume of 191366 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STNE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded StoneCo from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. They set a "hold" rating and a $12.60 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of StoneCo from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.30.

StoneCo Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 3.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $129.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.24 million. StoneCo had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 22.19%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that StoneCo Ltd. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at StoneCo

In other StoneCo news, Director Silvio Morais sold 21,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.91, for a total value of $208,110.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of StoneCo

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its position in StoneCo by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 7,728,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491,394 shares in the last quarter. BRC Global BAH Investments Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. BRC Global BAH Investments Ltd. now owns 7,580,409 shares of the company's stock worth $107,035,000 after buying an additional 1,867,018 shares during the period. Squadra Investments Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. grew its position in shares of StoneCo by 435.5% during the 1st quarter. Squadra Investments Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. now owns 6,662,253 shares of the company's stock worth $94,071,000 after buying an additional 5,418,053 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of StoneCo by 151.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,032,572 shares of the company's stock worth $85,180,000 after buying an additional 3,636,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of StoneCo by 34.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,856,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,637,000 after buying an additional 1,251,385 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.19% of the company's stock.

About StoneCo

StoneCo Ltd. is a financial technology company serving businesses and consumers in Brazil. Through its Stone and Ton brands, the company provides electronic payment processing and point-of-sale solutions, including card acceptance, digital payments, payment links and related tools for merchants of varying sizes.

StoneCo also offers financial services designed to support small and medium-sized businesses, such as digital banking, working-capital products and other business management tools.

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