Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) Shares Up 8.1% – Here’s Why

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) shares shot up 8.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $18.65 and last traded at $18.7510. 202,672 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,620,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GRPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Groupon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Northland Securities set a $26.00 price target on shares of Groupon in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $13.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Groupon in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Groupon currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.67.

Groupon Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $625.15 million, a P/E ratio of -6.31 and a beta of 0.25.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The coupon company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $117.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.65 million. Groupon had a negative return on equity of 717.37% and a negative net margin of 20.78%. On average, analysts forecast that Groupon, Inc. will post -0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Groupon

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GRPN. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Groupon by 552.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,136,524 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $38,017,000 after purchasing an additional 962,337 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Groupon by 749.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 791,498 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $13,938,000 after purchasing an additional 698,270 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Groupon by 464.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 619,413 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $7,371,000 after purchasing an additional 509,600 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Groupon by 22.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,108,578 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $49,235,000 after purchasing an additional 383,277 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Groupon in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,993,000. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Groupon

Groupon, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects subscribers with local merchants offering discounted goods, services and experiences. Through its website and mobile applications, Groupon provides time-limited deals across categories such as restaurants, travel, beauty and wellness, home services, and consumer products. Merchants partner with Groupon to attract new customers and drive foot traffic, leveraging the platform’s targeted marketing tools and large subscriber base to promote special offers and vouchers.

Founded in Chicago in 2008 by Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, Groupon pioneered the daily-deals model, quickly growing its user community and merchant network.