Wall Street Zen Downgrades WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) from "buy" to "hold."
• Five analysts rate the stock a Buy and three a Hold, leaving a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average target of $17.83; the shares trade around $16.39 with a 52‑week range of $8.45–$18.78.
• WisdomTree recently beat estimates, reporting $0.29 EPS vs. $0.23 expected and revenue up 33.2% year‑over‑year, with a 30.24% return on equity and a 22.1% net margin.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on WT. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of WisdomTree in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on WisdomTree from $16.75 to $16.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on WisdomTree from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research cut WisdomTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on WisdomTree from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WisdomTree has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.83.

WisdomTree Price Performance

WisdomTree stock opened at $16.39 on Friday. WisdomTree has a 52 week low of $8.45 and a 52 week high of $18.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85 and a beta of 1.11.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.06. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 22.10%.The business had revenue of $147.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that WisdomTree will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,140,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,201,725.80. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WisdomTree

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,947 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the 1st quarter worth about $147,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree in the 1st quarter valued at about $743,000. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree in the 4th quarter valued at about $128,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,752,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree Investments, Inc NYSE: WT is a U.S.-based asset management firm specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Founded in 2006 by Jonathan Steinberg and headquartered in New York City, WisdomTree has developed a reputation for pioneering smart-beta and fundamentally weighted indexing approaches. The company designs strategies that seek to enhance returns and reduce volatility by weighting constituents based on dividends, earnings or other financial metrics rather than relying solely on market capitalization.

WisdomTree offers a broad suite of investment products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and digital assets.

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