Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) Shares Up 7.5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) shot up 7.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $25.27 and last traded at $25.3140. Approximately 553,410 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 1,636,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Groupon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Northland Securities set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Groupon in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of Groupon in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Groupon in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Groupon in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Groupon has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.50.

Groupon Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.88. The firm has a market cap of $986.72 million, a PE ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 0.23.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The coupon company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $117.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.65 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Groupon, Inc. will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Groupon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GRPN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Groupon by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,108,578 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $49,235,000 after buying an additional 383,277 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Groupon by 552.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,136,524 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $38,017,000 after acquiring an additional 962,337 shares in the last quarter. Garnet Equity Capital Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Groupon by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Garnet Equity Capital Holdings Inc. now owns 958,660 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $16,882,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Groupon by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 881,422 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $15,522,000 after acquiring an additional 180,992 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Groupon by 749.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 791,498 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $13,938,000 after acquiring an additional 698,270 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Groupon Company Profile

Groupon, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects subscribers with local merchants offering discounted goods, services and experiences. Through its website and mobile applications, Groupon provides time-limited deals across categories such as restaurants, travel, beauty and wellness, home services, and consumer products. Merchants partner with Groupon to attract new customers and drive foot traffic, leveraging the platform’s targeted marketing tools and large subscriber base to promote special offers and vouchers.

Founded in Chicago in 2008 by Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, Groupon pioneered the daily-deals model, quickly growing its user community and merchant network.