Wix.com (NASDAQ:WIX) Trading 6.4% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Wix.com shares rose 6.4% after Needham & Company raised its price target from $80 to $95 and maintained a buy rating. The stock reached $79.87 and last traded near $81.70.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: 11 analysts rate Wix a buy, 10 rate it a hold and two rate it a sell, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $91.29.
• Wix reported quarterly revenue of $563.06 million, up 14.9% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $1.39 per share, beating estimates of $1.13; however, the company continues to report a negative net margin and return on equity.

Shares of Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX - Get Free Report) shot up 6.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $95.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Wix.com traded as high as $79.87 and last traded at $81.6990. 58,455 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 2,101,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.80.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wix.com from $45.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wix.com in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Wix.com from $86.00 to $62.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wix.com in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Wix.com from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.29.

Insider Activity at Wix.com

In other Wix.com news, insider Shelly B. Meyer sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $45,505.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 183,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,385,950. This represents a 0.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Lior Shemesh purchased 456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.89 per share, for a total transaction of $27,309.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 221,567 shares in the company, valued at $13,269,647.63. This trade represents a 0.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 2,622 shares of company stock worth $157,032 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wix.com

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Senvest Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wix.com by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 3,754,680 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $338,184,000 after buying an additional 746,200 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Wix.com by 11,894.0% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,529,474 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $318,676,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500,047 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Wix.com by 57.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,585,962 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $142,848,000 after acquiring an additional 578,729 shares during the last quarter. Atreides Management LP bought a new position in shares of Wix.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,598,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wix.com by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,079,489 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $112,148,000 after purchasing an additional 183,100 shares during the period. 81.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wix.com Trading Up 6.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 38.07 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day moving average is $71.35 and its 200-day moving average is $67.46.

Wix.com (NASDAQ:WIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The information services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $563.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $552.56 million. Wix.com had a negative return on equity of 1.61% and a negative net margin of 8.19%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. Research analysts expect that Wix.com Ltd. will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

About Wix.com

Wix.com Ltd. is an Israeli software company that operates a cloud-based website development platform. Its services enable individuals, entrepreneurs, small businesses and organizations to create, manage and grow websites without requiring extensive coding expertise.

The company offers customizable website templates and visual design tools, along with domain registration, web hosting, content management, search engine optimization and online marketing capabilities. Wix also provides tools for e-commerce, online payments, bookings, events, restaurants and other business operations, as well as professional development products through Wix Studio and third-party applications available through its app marketplace.

Founded in 2006 by Avishai Abrahami, Nadav Abrahami and Giora Kaplan, Wix is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, and serves customers internationally.

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