Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Given New $695.00 Price Target at Benchmark

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) had its price objective reduced by Benchmark from $760.00 to $695.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Spotify Technology from $830.00 to $650.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Spotify Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Daiwa Securities Group started coverage on Spotify Technology in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Pivotal Research decreased their price target on Spotify Technology from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Spotify Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.68.

Spotify Technology Stock Up 2.4%

SPOT stock opened at $444.49 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $500.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $547.72. The company has a market cap of $91.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.70. Spotify Technology has a twelve month low of $405.00 and a twelve month high of $785.00.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.14 billion. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 31.35% and a net margin of 13.16%.The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 15.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Spotify Technology

In other news, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of Spotify Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total transaction of $2,606,616.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of Spotify Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.52, for a total value of $9,864,842.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 20,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,758,773.68. This represents a 50.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Spotify Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 3,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Spotify Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in Spotify Technology by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 45 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Spotify Technology during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Spotify Technology

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on users, revenue and operating income — Spotify reported stronger-than-expected MAU and premium subscriber growth and topped EPS/revenue estimates, which supports the long-term growth story. Business Wire Q1 Release
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic content expansion — Spotify added Peloton fitness classes to Premium globally and is pushing into video/fitness content, which could diversify revenue and improve engagement/margins over time. Bloomberg: Peloton Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Universal Music’s capital moves include a larger buyback — Universal said it will sell half its Spotify stake but also expand its buyback program to €1bn; the buyback component is supportive for shareholder value even as the stake sale raises near-term supply concerns. Yahoo: Universal Music
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains in places — some firms reaffirmed buy/overweight ratings and at least one (Rosenblatt) issued a contrarian upgrade; Erste even nudged up EPS forecasts, showing disagreement among analysts about the near-term pullback.
• Neutral Sentiment: AI spending: near-term drag, possible long-term catalyst — Management’s heavy AI investments are weighing on short-term margins, but some analysts argue they could trigger a future upgrade cycle if they accelerate product/monetization. MSN: AI investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Content/labeling debate around AI-generated music — User-created tools and questions about labeling AI music are getting attention; this is a reputational/regulatory issue to watch but not an immediate earnings driver. Digital Trends: AI labeling
• Negative Sentiment: Weak Q2 guidance is the main catalyst for the recent selloff — Spotify guided Q2 operating income and premium-subscriber growth below Street expectations, which triggered sharp downside in sentiment despite the Q1 beat. Reuters: Q2 guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Ad-revenue softness and slowing growth worries — Advertiser revenue missed expectations/appears soft, raising concerns about near-term top-line momentum and valuation. MarketBeat: Ad slump
• Negative Sentiment: Broad analyst target cuts — Multiple firms trimmed price targets (Cantor Fitzgerald, Barclays, JPMorgan, Goldman, Wells Fargo, Guggenheim and others), reflecting lower near-term profit expectations and boosting selling pressure. 247WallSt: Price target cuts

Spotify Technology Company 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.