BOX (NYSE:BOX) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $38.00 to $37.00. The stock had previously closed at $33.47, but opened at $31.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. BOX shares last traded at $31.92, with a volume of 1,035,617 shares changing hands.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on BOX. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BOX in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of BOX from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BOX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of BOX in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on BOX in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.60.

Insider Activity at BOX

In related news, COO Olivia Nottebohm sold 6,079 shares of BOX stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.42, for a total transaction of $209,239.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 440,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,178,806.96. This trade represents a 1.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Eli Berkovitch sold 4,792 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.46, for a total value of $155,548.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 140,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,983.12. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,041 shares of company stock worth $2,889,758 in the last 90 days. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BOX

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BOX by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,371,815 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $44,900,000 after purchasing an additional 134,175 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in BOX during the third quarter worth $1,221,000. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in BOX during the third quarter valued at about $2,021,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of BOX during the 4th quarter valued at about $981,000. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new position in shares of BOX in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $615,000. 86.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BOX Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.88.

BOX declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 4th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About BOX

Box, Inc engages in the provision of an enterprise content platform that enables organizations to securely manage enterprise content while allowing easy, secure access and sharing of this content from anywhere, on any device. Its products include cloud content management, IT and admin controls, Box Governance, Box Zones, Box Relay, Box Shuttle, and Box KeySafe.