Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 653,422 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the previous session's volume of 594,959 shares.The stock last traded at $4.23 and had previously closed at $4.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on STGW shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Stagwell in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Benchmark lowered shares of Stagwell from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Stagwell from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $9.00 price target on shares of Stagwell in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $8.60.

Stagwell Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of -429.00 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.05). Stagwell had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 0.01%. The business had revenue of $651.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $686.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stagwell Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Jeffery Penn acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.87 per share, with a total value of $48,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,014,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,898,447.85. The trade was a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charlene Barshefsky acquired 24,350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.30 per share, for a total transaction of $104,705.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 185,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $796,858.80. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 36,436 shares of company stock worth $163,314 over the last 90 days. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stagwell

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STGW. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stagwell by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 622,361 shares of the company's stock worth $4,095,000 after buying an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Stagwell by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,944 shares of the company's stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Stagwell by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 351,397 shares of the company's stock worth $2,312,000 after buying an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Stagwell by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,935 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 2,378 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Stagwell by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 178,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. 35.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stagwell Company Profile

Stagwell Inc provides digital transformation, performance media and data, consumer insights and strategy, and creativity and communications services. The company operates through three segments: Integrated Agencies Network, Brand Performance Network, and Communications Network. It designs and builds digital platforms and experiences that support the delivery of content, commerce, service, and sales; creates websites, mobile applications, back-end systems, content and data management systems, and other digital environments; designs and implements technology and data strategies; and develops software and related technology products, including artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled communications, research, and media technology, cookie-less data platforms for advance targeting and activation, software tools for e-commerce applications, specialty media solutions in the augmented reality space, and text messaging applications for consumer engagement.