Arete Downgrades Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) to Neutral

Key Points

• Symbotic has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating by Arete, with a target price of $50.00, indicating a potential downside of 5.49% from its previous close.
• Other brokerages have also changed their ratings on Symbotic, with Deutsche Bank reducing it to "hold" and BWS Financial maintaining a "sell" rating with a price target of $10.00.
• Despite earning reports showing a revenue increase of 39.7%, Symbotic missed earnings forecasts, reporting a loss of ($0.04) per share compared to analyst expectations of $0.05 per share.
• Insider selling activity has been noted, with significant shares sold recently by executives, reflecting potential concerns about the company's stock performance.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Arete from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the stock. Arete's price objective points to a potential downside of 5.64% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Symbotic from $35.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. BWS Financial reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Symbotic in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Symbotic from $25.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Symbotic to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Symbotic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $51.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.94.

Symbotic Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Symbotic stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.99. 1,625,885 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,658,595. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.90. The company has a market capitalization of $31.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,324.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 55.65 and a beta of 2.03. Symbotic has a 1 year low of $16.32 and a 1 year high of $55.44.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). Symbotic had a negative net margin of 0.23% and a negative return on equity of 1.26%. The company had revenue of $549.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.07) EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Symbotic will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider William M. Boyd III sold 2,660 shares of Symbotic stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $129,967.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,557,852.24. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniela L. Rus sold 1,000 shares of Symbotic stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.33, for a total value of $48,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,729 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,492.57. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 75,871 shares of company stock worth $2,791,800 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Symbotic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SYM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Symbotic by 1,812.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Symbotic during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Symbotic during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Symbotic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Symbotic by 408.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter.

Symbotic Company Profile

Symbotic Inc, an automation technology company, engages in developing technologies to improve operating efficiencies in modern warehouses. The company automates the processing of pallets and cases in large warehouses or distribution centers for retail companies. Its systems enhance operations at the front end of the supply chain.