Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Takes Position in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 211,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,755,000. Spotify Technology comprises 1.4% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SPOT. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Objectivity Squared LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Objectivity Squared LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $968,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.09% of the company’s stock.

More Spotify Technology News

Here are the key news stories impacting Spotify Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS expects Spotify to report accelerating Q2 revenue growth of about 15.6% on a constant-currency basis, with results likely in line with management guidance, reinforcing confidence in the company’s near-term fundamentals. Spotify on track for double-digit growth, UBS says ahead of Q2
• Positive Sentiment: UBS maintained a buy rating on Spotify Technology (SPOT), signaling continued analyst support despite a lower price target. UBS lowers Spotify price target to $690
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts also adjusted price targets this week, including Rosenblatt and Wells Fargo, but the ratings stayed mostly neutral-to-bullish, suggesting expectations have shifted more than the underlying thesis. Spotify analyst price target changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider share sales by executives, including the CEO and co-CEO, drew attention, but the filings indicate the transactions were tied to tax withholding or pre-arranged trading plans, which softens the negative signal. Spotify CEO sells shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary highlighted insider selling and valuation concerns, which could pressure sentiment if investors decide Spotify’s growth is already priced in. Spotify stock could be 35% undervalued despite fraud stream removals

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SPOT shares. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Spotify Technology from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Pivotal Research cut their target price on Spotify Technology from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Spotify Technology from $430.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $565.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Spotify Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon sold 35,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.73, for a total transaction of $18,600,327.40. Following the sale, the director owned 6,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,355,734.59. This trade represents a 84.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $8,973,189.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,492 shares in the company, valued at $8,826,314.24. This represents a 50.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 111,442 shares of company stock worth $54,757,553 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Spotify Technology Stock Performance

Shares of Spotify Technology stock traded down $5.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $480.46. 934,812 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,663,636. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $471.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $495.32. The stock has a market cap of $98.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.56. Spotify Technology has a 12 month low of $405.00 and a 12 month high of $748.30.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

About Spotify Technology

Spotify Technology is a digital audio streaming company best known for its on-demand music service and a growing portfolio of spoken-word content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched commercially in 2008, the company offers a cross-platform app that enables users to discover, stream and organize music, podcasts and other audio. Its primary consumer products include a free, ad-supported tier and a paid Spotify Premium subscription that provides ad-free listening, offline playback and higher-quality audio streams.