Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV) Trading 14.4% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Serve Robotics Inc. saw a significant stock price increase of 14.4%, trading as high as $12.13, following a high trading volume of approximately 18 million shares.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.36) per share, missing the expected estimate, while analysts anticipate a consensus target price of $17.75 for the stock.
• Recent insider transactions saw CEO Ali Kashani sell 7,467 shares, reflecting a slight decrease in his ownership percentage in the company.

Serve Robotics Inc. (NASDAQ:SERV - Get Free Report) shares rose 14.4% on Wednesday after Singular Research upgraded the stock to a moderate buy rating. The company traded as high as $12.13 and last traded at $11.75. Approximately 18,071,480 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 155% from the average daily volume of 7,078,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.27.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Serve Robotics in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Serve Robotics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wedbush began coverage on shares of Serve Robotics in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Serve Robotics

In other news, Director David Michael Goldberg sold 10,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.63, for a total transaction of $113,741.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 50,725 shares in the company, valued at $539,206.75. The trade was a 17.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brian Read sold 10,216 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.82, for a total transaction of $100,321.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 373,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,665,442.66. This trade represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,103 shares of company stock valued at $558,253. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SERV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Serve Robotics by 13.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in Serve Robotics by 25.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,923 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 2,655 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Serve Robotics by 316.7% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,900 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in Serve Robotics by 34.6% during the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 14,400 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 3,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Serve Robotics by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,200 shares of the company's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period.

Serve Robotics Stock Down 1.3%

The company has a market cap of $664.69 million, a PE ratio of -9.65 and a beta of -0.11. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $10.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.39.

Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.13). Serve Robotics had a negative return on equity of 36.47% and a negative net margin of 3,726.00%.The company had revenue of $0.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.63 million. Analysts forecast that Serve Robotics Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

About Serve Robotics

Serve Robotics Inc designs, develops, and operates low-emission robots that serve people in public spaces with food delivery in the United States. It builds self-driving delivery robots. The company was formerly known as Patricia Acquisition Corp. and changed its name to Serve Robotics Inc in July 2023.