Clough Capital Partners L P Cuts Stock Holdings in Spotify Technology $SPOT

Clough Capital Partners L P lowered its stake in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) by 32.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,145 shares during the quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P’s holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SPOT. SummitTX Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 90.9% during the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 4,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. Owl Creek Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the first quarter valued at about $6,148,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 51.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 46,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,383,000 after purchasing an additional 15,665 shares in the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Spotify Technology during the first quarter valued at about $175,000. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new position in Spotify Technology during the first quarter worth about $66,918,000. 84.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spotify Technology News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles frame Spotify as a potentially attractive value or buy candidate compared with peers, which can support sentiment around the stock. XYZ or SPOT: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Spotify is being highlighted as a trending stock with strong analyst interest, reinforcing the idea that Wall Street remains broadly constructive on the name. Is It Worth Investing in Spotify (SPOT) Based on Wall Street’s Bullish Views?
• Neutral Sentiment: Benchmark reportedly lowered its expectations for Spotify, which could temper enthusiasm but does not appear severe enough on its own to dominate trading. Benchmark Has Lowered Expectations for Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Spotify deleted more than 500,000 fake streams tied to Malcolm Todd has raised fraud and integrity concerns, which could be viewed as a reputational headwind for the platform. EXCLUSIVE: Spotify Deleted 500,000 Fake Malcolm Todd Streams. A Former SEC Lawyer Says the Bots May Have Committed a Federal Crime

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Spotify Technology news, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.86, for a total transaction of $2,613,954.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 67,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,497,480.52. This represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon sold 35,380 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 6,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,355,734.59. This trade 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 a total of 111,442 shares of company stock worth $54,757,553 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPOT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $430.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Spotify Technology from $750.00 to $720.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.70.

Spotify Technology Stock Performance

NYSE SPOT opened at $483.27 on Monday. Spotify Technology has a 52-week low of $405.00 and a 52-week high of $748.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $481.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $487.62. The company has a market capitalization of $99.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.56.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Spotify Technology will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spotify Technology Profile

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.