Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Price Target Cut to $500.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $600.00 to $500.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Spotify Technology in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $487.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark lowered their target price on Spotify Technology from $860.00 to $760.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Spotify Technology from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Spotify Technology from $745.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Spotify Technology from $615.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $647.68.

Spotify Technology Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE:SPOT opened at $444.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $500.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $547.72. The company has a market capitalization of $91.51 billion, a PE ratio of 46.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.70. Spotify Technology has a 52-week low of $405.00 and a 52-week high of $785.00.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 15.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,609 shares in the company, valued at $9,758,773.68. The trade was a 50.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of Spotify Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total value of $2,606,616.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. This trade represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Spotify Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPOT. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Spotify Technology by 3,800.0% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its holdings in Spotify Technology by 80.0% during the third 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 position in Spotify Technology during the first quarter worth $32,000. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about 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.