Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) CEO Gustav Soderstrom Sells 20,913 Shares

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) CEO Gustav Söderström sold 20,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.19, for a total transaction of $11,380,645.47. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 20,025 shares in the company, valued at $10,897,404.75. This represents a 51.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Gustav Soderstrom also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 3rd, Gustav Söderström sold 20,833 shares of Spotify Technology stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.24, for a total transaction of $10,567,330.92.
• On Monday, July 6th, Gustav Söderström sold 20,833 shares of Spotify Technology stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.45, for a total transaction of $9,967,548.85.

Spotify Technology Stock Performance

Shares of SPOT opened at $546.88 on Thursday. Spotify Technology has a 1 year low of $405.00 and a 1 year high of $745.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $512.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $495.71. The company has a market capitalization of $112.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.59.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.13). Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 41.39% and a net margin of 18.44%.The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.42) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Spotify Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Spotify Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $711,460,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Spotify Technology by 1,382.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,247,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,045 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in Spotify Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,278,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology during the first quarter valued at approximately $213,047,000. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology during the first quarter valued at approximately $193,964,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPOT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Spotify Technology from $735.00 to $690.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Spotify Technology from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Spotify Technology in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Spotify Technology from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $594.50.

Spotify Technology Company Profile

Spotify Technology SA is a Luxembourg-based audio streaming company that operates the Spotify platform. The service gives users access to a broad catalog of music, podcasts and audiobooks, with features for searching, discovering, creating and sharing audio content across connected devices.

Spotify offers an ad-supported service at no subscription cost and paid Premium plans that provide additional features, including ad-free listening and offline playback. The company generates revenue primarily through subscriptions and advertising, while working with music labels, publishers, podcast creators and other rights holders to distribute content.

Founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, Spotify launched its streaming service in 2008.