Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) Trading 8.2% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Stagwell shares jumped 8.2% on Wednesday, trading as high as $7.05 after closing at $6.61, though volume was well below average.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed, with several downgrades offset by bullish calls from Rosenblatt Securities and Craig Hallum; overall, MarketBeat shows an average Hold rating and a $7.65 target price.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.17 per share, missing estimates by a penny, while revenue of $704.14 million slightly beat expectations and rose 8% year over year. CEO Mark Penn also bought 20,000 shares, even as a director made a large stock sale earlier in the month.

Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 8.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $7.05 and last traded at $7.1550. 424,963 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,763,562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on STGW. Zacks Research downgraded Stagwell from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Stagwell in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stagwell from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Stagwell from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Craig Hallum set a $8.00 price objective on Stagwell and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.65.

Stagwell Stock Up 4.3%

The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). Stagwell had a return on equity of 24.12% and a net margin of 0.64%.The firm had revenue of $704.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $700.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share. Stagwell's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Stagwell has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.120 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Stagwell Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stagwell

In other news, CEO Mark Jeffery Penn bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.88 per share, for a total transaction of $117,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 23,034,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,445,741.20. This represents a 0.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bradley J. Gross sold 2,163,790 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.04, for a total value of $13,069,291.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,085.56. This represents a 99.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stagwell

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in STGW. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stagwell by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 21,034,577 shares of the company's stock worth $118,425,000 after purchasing an additional 920,431 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Stagwell by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,035,320 shares of the company's stock worth $31,671,000 after purchasing an additional 923,771 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Stagwell by 10.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,851,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,052,000 after buying an additional 277,637 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Stagwell by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,676,532 shares of the company's stock worth $13,088,000 after buying an additional 939,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Stagwell by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,299,100 shares of the company's stock worth $11,243,000 after purchasing an additional 73,817 shares in the last quarter. 35.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stagwell

Stagwell Inc is a modern marketing and communications network that partners with global organizations to drive brand growth through data-driven insights and creative solutions. The company operates a diversified portfolio of specialized agencies and technology platforms, offering services that span digital marketing, advertising, public relations, consumer and market research, social media strategy, and commerce consulting. By integrating research, creative, media, and technology under a unified network, Stagwell aims to deliver end-to-end marketing solutions tailored to the evolving needs of clients in sectors such as technology, healthcare, consumer goods, and financial services.

Founded in 2015 by long-time political strategist and pollster Mark Penn, Stagwell has expanded organically and through strategic acquisitions to build capabilities across the marketing value chain.

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