Unity Software (NYSE:U) Shares Down 6.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Unity Software's shares fell 6.3% after Arete downgraded the stock from a buy to a neutral rating, with a new price target set at $36.00.
• Multiple analysts have recently updated their ratings for Unity Software, with HSBC lowering it to a hold rating, while others set targets between $35.00 and $40.80.
• Insider trading activity reported significant sales, with executives selling a combined total of over 2.2 million shares worth nearly $95 million in the last quarter.

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 6.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Arete downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a neutral rating. Arete now has a $36.00 price target on the stock. Unity Software traded as low as $35.10 and last traded at $35.04. Approximately 2,935,359 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 12,116,265 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.41.

U has been the subject of a number of other research reports. HSBC lowered shares of Unity Software from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.50 to $40.80 in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Unity Software in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Unity Software from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Unity Software from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Unity Software from $25.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Anirma Gupta sold 2,296 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.99, for a total value of $101,001.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 628,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,645,647.47. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mark Barrysmith sold 645 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.52, for a total transaction of $30,005.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 453,788 shares in the company, valued at $21,110,217.76. This represents a 0.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,233,415 shares of company stock worth $94,949,128 in the last quarter. 3.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unity Software

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unity Software by 116.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,085 shares of the company's stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 15,633 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Software during the first quarter worth approximately $433,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unity Software by 72.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Software during the first quarter worth approximately $2,215,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Unity Software by 3.0% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 18,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.46% of the company's stock.

Unity Software Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The company's 50 day moving average price is $40.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.04 and a beta of 2.32.

Unity Software (NYSE:U - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.01). Unity Software had a negative net margin of 24.38% and a negative return on equity of 13.59%. The company had revenue of $440.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.18 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.32) earnings per share. Unity Software's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Unity Software Inc. will post -1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unity Software Company Profile

Unity Software Inc operates a real-time 3D development platform. Its platform provides software solutions to create, run, and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company offers its solutions directly through its online store and field sales operations in North America, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea, as well as indirectly through independent distributors and resellers worldwide.

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