Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Shares Climb 5.9% – Still a Buy?

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT)’s stock price shot up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $587.00 and last traded at $590.1940. Approximately 509,524 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 2,183,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $557.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $527.00 price target on shares of Spotify Technology in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Spotify Technology from $490.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Spotify Technology in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $580.00 price objective (up from $540.00) on shares of Spotify Technology in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Spotify Technology from $570.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Spotify Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $620.07.

Spotify Technology Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $121.04 billion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $529.43 and a 200-day moving average of $497.90.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.18 by ($0.37). Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.74% and a return on equity of 35.64%. The company had revenue of $5.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 13.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gustav Söderström sold 20,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.19, for a total transaction of $11,380,645.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,897,404.75. This represents a 51.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Alex Norström sold 5,436 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.10, for a total transaction of $2,729,415.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 66,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,526,723.30. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,092 shares of company stock valued at $35,762,410. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spotify Technology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPOT. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Spotify Technology during the third quarter valued at $738,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Spotify Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $391,000. Torray Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Spotify Technology in the third quarter valued at $5,209,000. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its position in Spotify Technology by 25.8% during the third quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in Spotify Technology by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Spotify Technology

Spotify Technology SA is an audio streaming company that operates the Spotify platform, offering users access to music, podcasts and audiobooks through internet-connected devices. Its catalog includes licensed recordings from music labels and artists, as well as podcasts and other audio content from creators and publishers.

Spotify provides both an ad-supported service and subscription-based Premium plans. Premium subscribers generally receive ad-free listening and additional features, while the advertising-supported service allows users to access content without a paid subscription.