WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded WisdomTree from “hold” to “buy,” adding to a mixed but generally constructive analyst backdrop. The stock now has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $18.47.
• WisdomTree reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.27 versus the $0.25 estimate and revenue of $159.5 million, up 47.5% year over year. Analysts expect the company to earn $1.13 per share for the full year.
• Shares were trading near their 52-week high at $19.36, just below the $19.85 peak, while institutional ownership remained high at 78.64%. Several large investors increased their stakes, even as some insiders recently sold shares.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on WisdomTree in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered WisdomTree from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on WisdomTree in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on WisdomTree from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.80 price objective on shares of WisdomTree in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WisdomTree currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.47.

WisdomTree Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WT opened at $19.36 on Tuesday. WisdomTree has a 12-month low of $9.24 and a 12-month high of $19.85. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.21 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $16.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.59.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 33.31% and a net margin of 11.26%.The firm had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 47.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that WisdomTree will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David M. Yates sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $270,900.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 157,499 shares in the company, valued at $2,844,431.94. This represents a 8.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 10.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WT. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 2.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 456,990 shares of the company's stock worth $4,076,000 after acquiring an additional 12,402 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 379.3% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 880,977 shares of the company's stock worth $7,858,000 after acquiring an additional 697,156 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 35.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 301,138 shares of the company's stock worth $3,466,000 after acquiring an additional 78,837 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 722.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 93,039 shares of the company's stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 81,725 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 20.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 482,313 shares of the company's stock worth $5,551,000 after acquiring an additional 80,361 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company's stock.

WisdomTree Company Profile

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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