Spotify Technology $SPOT Stake Increased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 489,126 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,737 shares during the period. Spotify Technology makes up 0.5% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $284,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 120.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Freemont Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Freemont Management S.A. now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 102.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter worth $4,971,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $670.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Spotify Technology in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $630.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $695.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Spotify Technology in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and five 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 a consensus price target of $645.77.

More Spotify Technology News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Spotify said it will adopt Apple’s HLS video streaming technology for podcasts, allowing Spotify-hosted video shows to be distributed and monetized on Apple Podcasts with less friction for creators. That could broaden reach, improve creator tools, and make Spotify’s podcast ecosystem more attractive. TechCrunch article
• Positive Sentiment: The cross-platform video podcast move may help Spotify strengthen engagement and monetize more content across both Spotify and Apple Podcasts, supporting its long-term platform strategy. 9to5Mac article
• Neutral Sentiment: Spotify also cut subscription prices in India and discontinued Premium Lite there, a sign of aggressive international pricing that could help user growth but may pressure near-term revenue per user. Moneycontrol article
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment may also be weighed by the recent Q1 disappointment, with weaker-than-expected premium subscriber additions and advertising revenue, plus a securities investigation tied to those results. Yahoo Finance article

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $8,973,189.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,826,314.24. This trade represents a 50.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. This represents a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 47,102 shares of company stock valued at $21,444,648 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Spotify Technology Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:SPOT opened at $432.47 on Friday. Spotify Technology has a 12 month low of $405.00 and a 12 month high of $785.00. The firm has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $489.44 and its 200-day moving average is $531.26.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.63. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 35.73%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. Spotify Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Spotify Technology will post 14.87 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.