SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN) Shares Down 1.8% – Here’s Why

SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN) shares fell 1.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $4.85 and last traded at $4.88. Approximately 16,574,420 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 27,164,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SoundHound AI from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of SoundHound AI from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of SoundHound AI from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of SoundHound AI in a research note on Friday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SoundHound AI currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.75.

SoundHound AI Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of -12.84 and a beta of 2.73.

SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.11. SoundHound AI had a negative return on equity of 30.22% and a negative net margin of 67.45%. The firm had revenue of $61.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that SoundHound AI, Inc. will post -0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SoundHound AI

In other news, COO Michael Zagorsek sold 71,113 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total value of $450,145.29. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,600,231 shares in the company, valued at $16,459,462.23. This represents a 2.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Keyvan Mohajer sold 137,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.33, for a total transaction of $869,045.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,684,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,325,714.51. This trade represents a 3.59% 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 quarter, insiders sold 288,758 shares of company stock valued at $1,828,598. 8.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SoundHound AI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of SoundHound AI by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 440,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,023,000 after purchasing an additional 87,998 shares during the period. Themes Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of SoundHound AI by 86.5% in the 1st quarter. Themes Management Co LLC now owns 191,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 88,820 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SoundHound AI in the 1st quarter valued at $1,606,000. AXQ Capital LP boosted its holdings in SoundHound AI by 395.6% during the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 254,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 203,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its holdings in SoundHound AI by 777.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 176,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 156,612 shares in the last quarter. 19.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SoundHound AI

SoundHound AI, Inc develops voice artificial intelligence technologies that enable people to interact with products and services using natural language. Its platform is designed to understand conversational speech, answer questions, and support voice-enabled experiences across automotive, restaurant, consumer electronics and other industries.

The company’s offerings include the Houndify voice AI platform, which businesses can use to build customized voice assistants, and SoundHound Chat AI, a conversational assistant designed to provide responses and complete tasks through voice interaction.