Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) Shares Up 7% – Here’s What Happened

Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW) shares were up 7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $6.46 and last traded at $6.4750. Approximately 968,424 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 1,779,204 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on STGW shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Stagwell in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stagwell from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Stagwell from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on shares of Stagwell from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Stagwell from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stagwell has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.65.

Stagwell Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.79 and a beta of 1.27.

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $704.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.48 million. Stagwell had a return on equity of 24.12% and a net margin of 0.64%.The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. Stagwell has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.980-1.120 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Stagwell Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bradley J. Gross sold 2,163,790 shares of Stagwell stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.04, for a total value of $13,069,291.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,085.56. The trade was a 99.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Jeffery Penn purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.88 per share, with a total value of $117,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 23,034,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,445,741.20. This represents a 0.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 11.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stagwell

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STGW. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stagwell in the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Stagwell by 6.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 52,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 3,249 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Stagwell in the first quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Stagwell by 36.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 123,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 32,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Stagwell by 5.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 101,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 5,017 shares in the last quarter. 35.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Stagwell

Stagwell Inc is a modern marketing and communications network that partners with global organizations to drive brand growth through data-driven insights and creative solutions. The company operates a diversified portfolio of specialized agencies and technology platforms, offering services that span digital marketing, advertising, public relations, consumer and market research, social media strategy, and commerce consulting. By integrating research, creative, media, and technology under a unified network, Stagwell aims to deliver end-to-end marketing solutions tailored to the evolving needs of clients in sectors such as technology, healthcare, consumer goods, and financial services.

Founded in 2015 by long-time political strategist and pollster Mark Penn, Stagwell has expanded organically and through strategic acquisitions to build capabilities across the marketing value chain.