StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Shares Up 3.2% – Here’s Why

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) rose 3.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.15 and last traded at $11.07. Approximately 1,056,812 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 5,552,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on STNE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on StoneCo from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on StoneCo from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of StoneCo from $5.70 to $6.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of StoneCo from $21.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

StoneCo Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 2.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.07. StoneCo had a return on equity of 13.92% and a net margin of 16.02%. The business had revenue of $582.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. Analysts predict that StoneCo Ltd. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squadra Investments Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. raised its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Squadra Investments Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. now owns 13,951,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,191,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446,709 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in StoneCo by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,422,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,035,530 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the fourth quarter valued at $22,642,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of StoneCo by 51.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,972,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,765,000 after buying an additional 2,692,558 shares during the period. Finally, Atmos Capital Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. grew its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Atmos Capital Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. now owns 11,623,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,642,000 after buying an additional 2,173,389 shares in the last quarter. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.