Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) Price Target Cut to $600.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $670.00 to $600.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on SPOT. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Spotify Technology from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Spotify Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Spotify Technology in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $487.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Securities Group initiated coverage on shares of Spotify Technology in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $535.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Spotify Technology from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Spotify Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.68.

Spotify Technology Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Spotify Technology stock opened at $444.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.11, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $500.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.72. Spotify Technology has a 52 week low of $405.00 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $2.00. Spotify Technology had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 31.35%. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Spotify Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 15.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Spotify Technology

In other news, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of Spotify Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.52, for a total transaction of $9,864,842.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,758,773.68. The trade was a 50.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $2,606,616.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 69,989 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Spotify Technology

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Spotify Technology by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 84.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Spotify Technology News Summary

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.