Benchmark Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Stock Price

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Benchmark from $695.00 to $650.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark’s target price suggests a potential upside of 35.90% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SPOT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $670.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays raised their target price on Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citizens Jmp boosted 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. Pivotal Research lowered their price target on Spotify Technology from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Spotify Technology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $636.71.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SPOT traded down $14.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $478.28. The company had a trading volume of 519,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,421,769. Spotify Technology has a 12 month low of $405.00 and a 12 month high of $748.30. The stock has a market cap of $98.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $479.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $489.88.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 15.56%.The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas O. Staggs sold 5,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.00, for a total transaction of $2,880,902.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,903,594. The trade was a 60.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon sold 35,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.73, for a total value of $18,600,327.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,355,734.59. This represents a 84.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 111,442 shares of company stock valued at $54,757,553 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Spotify Technology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $711,460,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Spotify Technology by 1,382.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,247,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,045 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,450,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,251,000 after purchasing an additional 647,708 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $316,278,000. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,616,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,614,000 after buying an additional 444,162 shares during the period. 84.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.