Insider Selling: Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) CEO Sells $2,613,954.96 in Stock

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 67,582 shares in the company, valued at $32,497,480.52. This trade represents a 7.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPOT traded down $8.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $485.78. 1,683,751 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,503,161. Spotify Technology has a 1 year low of $405.00 and a 1 year high of $748.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $469.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $496.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.56.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 15.56%.The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Spotify Technology will post 14.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SPOT. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $430.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Pivotal Research dropped their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $420.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Benchmark decreased their price target 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, Daiwa Securities Group initiated coverage on Spotify Technology in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Spotify Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $641.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Spotify Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $711,460,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 1,382.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,247,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $724,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,045 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Spotify Technology by 40.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,730,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,906,260,000 after purchasing an additional 789,755 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Spotify Technology during the third quarter valued at approximately $512,190,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC increased its holdings in Spotify Technology by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 2,450,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,251,000 after buying an additional 647,708 shares during the period. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Spotify Technology

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.