Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Spotify Technology has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 27 analysts, with 19 buy ratings, 2 strong buy ratings, and 6 hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $641.83.
• The company’s most recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $4.04 versus $3.41 expected and revenue of $5.25 billion versus $5.23 billion expected. Revenue also rose 8.2% year over year.
• Recent insider activity has been mostly selling, including large share sales by two directors, while institutional investors continue to hold the majority of shares. Insiders sold 111,442 shares in the last 90 days, and institutions own 84.09% of the stock.

Shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $641.8333.

SPOT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $695.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Spotify Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

SPOT stock opened at $460.74 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $476.44 and a 200-day moving average of $502.15. Spotify Technology has a fifty-two week low of $405.00 and a fifty-two week high of $785.00.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.23 billion. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 15.56%.Spotify Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon sold 35,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.73, for a total transaction of $18,600,327.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,355,734.59. This represents a 84.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas O. Staggs sold 5,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.00, for a total value of $2,880,902.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,903,594. This trade represents a 60.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,442 shares of company stock valued at $54,647,508. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $711,460,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Spotify Technology by 1,382.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,247,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $724,251,000 after buying an additional 1,163,045 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Spotify Technology by 40.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,730,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,906,260,000 after buying an additional 789,755 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in Spotify Technology in the third quarter valued at approximately $512,190,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC raised its stake in Spotify Technology by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,450,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,423,251,000 after buying an additional 647,708 shares during the period. 84.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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