Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $4.27, but opened at $4.43. Stagwell shares last traded at $4.32, with a volume of 721,819 shares.

Specifically, Director Charlene Barshefsky acquired 24,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.30 per share, with a total value of $104,705.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 185,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $796,858.80. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on STGW shares. Benchmark downgraded Stagwell from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Stagwell from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Stagwell in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stagwell has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $8.60.

Stagwell Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty 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 P/E ratio of -429.00 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $651.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $686.46 million. Stagwell had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 0.01%. Stagwell's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Stagwell Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stagwell

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $4,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Stagwell by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,892 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stagwell by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 351,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Stagwell by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Stagwell by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 178,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.61% of the company's stock.

About Stagwell

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.