Analysts Set Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Target Price at $609.05

Shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $609.0476.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SPOT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Spotify Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $570.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays raised their target price on Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Spotify Technology in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Spotify Technology in a research report on Thursday, August 13th.

Insider Activity at Spotify Technology

In related news, CEO Gustav Söderström sold 20,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $507.24, for a total transaction of $10,567,330.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,216,828.08. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 Spotify Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,538 shares of company stock valued at $25,878,250. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Spotify Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Spotify Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Spotify Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 423.1% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 84.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Shares of SPOT stock opened at $555.83 on Friday. Spotify Technology has a 12-month low of $405.00 and a 12-month high of $745.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $510.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $494.67.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.13). Spotify Technology had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 41.39%. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.42) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Spotify Technology

Spotify Technology SA is a Luxembourg-based audio streaming company that operates the Spotify platform. The service gives users access to a broad catalog of music, podcasts and audiobooks, with features for searching, discovering, creating and sharing audio content across connected devices.

Spotify offers an ad-supported service at no subscription cost and paid Premium plans that provide additional features, including ad-free listening and offline playback. The company generates revenue primarily through subscriptions and advertising, while working with music labels, publishers, podcast creators and other rights holders to distribute content.

Founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, Spotify launched its streaming service in 2008.