CLEAR Secure (NYSE:YOU) Stock Jumps 26.9% Following Earnings Beat

CLEAR Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) shares rose 26.9% during trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $60.99 and last traded at $60.5940. Approximately 804,387 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 1,633,404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.76.

The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. CLEAR Secure had a return on equity of 71.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $292.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $286.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 27.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YOU has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of CLEAR Secure in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of CLEAR Secure in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CLEAR Secure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $70.00 target price on shares of CLEAR Secure in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of CLEAR Secure from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Michael Z. Barkin sold 11,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $514,980.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 11,550 shares in the company, valued at $519,750. The trade was a 49.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Dennis W. Liu sold 2,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.47, for a total value of $93,564.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $705,738.90. This represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,047 shares of company stock worth $808,615. Corporate insiders own 29.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CLEAR Secure

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in CLEAR Secure by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in CLEAR Secure during the 3rd quarter worth $2,928,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of CLEAR Secure by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of CLEAR Secure by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CLEAR Secure in the third quarter valued at about $379,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.80% of the company’s stock.

CLEAR Secure Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.07 and a beta of 0.99.

About CLEAR Secure

CLEAR Secure, Inc provides identity verification and secure access services through its CLEAR platform. The company uses biometric authentication and other identity technologies to help verify individuals and streamline access to participating locations and services.

Its consumer offerings include CLEAR Plus, a membership service that allows enrolled members to verify their identities at participating airports, and CLEAR Reserve, which enables travelers to reserve a time to proceed through select airport security checkpoints.