Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) Trading Down 3.4%

Advantage Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:ADV)’s stock price traded down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $4.28 and last traded at $4.28. 247,395 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 585,936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ADV. TheStreet raised shares of Advantage Solutions from a “d” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Advantage Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $4.00 price target for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on shares of Advantage Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $3.43.

Advantage Solutions Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Advantage Solutions had a negative return on equity of 4.51% and a negative net margin of 1.35%. Analysts anticipate that Advantage Solutions Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jack Anthony Pestello bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.87 per share, for a total transaction of $38,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 146,279 shares in the company, valued at $566,099.73. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advantage Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Delphia USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Advantage Solutions in the first quarter valued at $64,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Advantage Solutions in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Advantage Solutions by 45.1% in the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Advantage Solutions during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Advantage Solutions during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions Inc provides business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sales and Marketing. The Sales segment offers brand-centric services, such as headquarter relationship management; analytics, insights, and intelligence; and brand-centric merchandising services.