StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on STNE. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on StoneCo from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Santander lowered StoneCo from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of StoneCo in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

StoneCo Stock Down 3.4%

StoneCo stock traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.81. 4,029,944 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,706,217. StoneCo has a 52-week low of $8.95 and a 52-week high of $19.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.78.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. StoneCo had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 15.38%.The firm had revenue of $675.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $704.26 million. On average, research analysts expect that StoneCo will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of StoneCo by 11,473.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in StoneCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc acquired a new position in StoneCo in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting StoneCo

Here are the key news stories impacting StoneCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: StoneCo raised FY‑2027 EPS guidance to 2.190–2.480 (consensus ~1.91), signalling stronger forward profitability than the street expected — a clear positive catalyst for valuation and investor confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: StoneCo also updated FY‑2026 EPS guidance to 2.000–2.110 (vs. ~1.95 consensus), reinforcing the message that earnings should improve next year and supporting multiple expansion potential.
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG issued a “Buy” on STNE, which can attract buyers and help offset selling pressure from more critical coverage. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary pushing for an aggressive buyback strategy (Seeking Alpha) could support the stock if management commits capital returns, improving near-term shareholder yield and signaling confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research moved STNE from “strong sell” to “hold”, a modest improvement but not a bullish endorsement; it may reduce selling pressure from more pessimistic investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Yahoo Finance summarized the Q4 call as showing robust financial growth but strategic shifts — useful context for assessing whether guidance beats are sustainable. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Benzinga rounded up four analysts’ views, indicating mixed sentiment across the sell side rather than a consensus directional change. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha downgraded STNE from Buy to Hold, highlighting weak Q4 details, pricing-driven revenue mix that produced zero card growth, rising churn and margin pressure — concerns that could weigh on near‑term multiples. Article Title

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd., commonly known as Stone, is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides integrated digital payment solutions and related financial services to merchants. Through its cloud-based platform, Stone enables businesses of all sizes to accept a variety of payment methods, including point-of-sale (POS) terminals, mobile card readers and e-commerce gateways. In addition to payment acceptance, the company offers value-added services such as working capital loans, digital banking products and automated billing tools designed to help merchants manage cash flow and streamline operations.

Since its founding in 2012 by André Street and Eduardo Pontes, Stone has focused on serving over half a million merchants across Brazil’s retail, restaurant and services sectors.