Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) Stock Price Down 6.4% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Insider selling by Maria G. Freve (6,667 shares at about $59.99) and CTO James Kuffner (77,321 shares at about $59.76) coincided with a mid-day stock drop of roughly 6.4% to ~$55.22 and below-average trading volume.
• Analysts are mixed—six Buys, seven Holds and five Sells—with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.79.
• Most recent quarter missed EPS expectations (reported -$0.03 vs. $0.08 expected) while revenue beat at $618.46M; the company still shows negative margins and a negative trailing P/E.

Shares of Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM - Get Free Report) fell 6.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $55.37 and last traded at $55.2210. 1,148,967 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 1,653,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.99.

Specifically, insider Maria G. Freve sold 6,667 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.99, for a total transaction of $399,953.33. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $530,611.55. This represents a 42.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO James Kuffner sold 77,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.76, for a total transaction of $4,620,702.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 144,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,664,124.32. The trade was a 34.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Symbotic from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Symbotic from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Symbotic in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Symbotic from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Symbotic from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.79.

Symbotic Trading Down 7.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $32.26 billion, a PE ratio of -362.89, a PEG ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 2.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.18.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $618.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $604.00 million. Symbotic had a negative return on equity of 3.89% and a negative net margin of 0.75%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Symbotic Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Symbotic

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Symbotic by 833.3% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 560 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Symbotic by 1,500.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 704 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Symbotic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Symbotic during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Symbotic in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000.

Symbotic Company Profile

Symbotic Inc NASDAQ: SYM is a provider of advanced warehouse automation and robotics systems designed to improve throughput, space utilization and labor productivity in distribution centers and fulfillment operations. The company develops integrated hardware and software solutions that automate the storage, retrieval, sorting and palletizing of goods, positioning itself as a systems integrator for material handling challenges faced by large-scale retailers, wholesalers and third-party logistics providers.

Products and services typically include autonomous robotic vehicles and shuttle systems, automated storage-and-retrieval equipment, robotic picking and palletizing cells, conveyors and sortation, together with control and management software that coordinates fleet operations and inventory flow.

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