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

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $9.27, but opened at $9.90. StoneCo shares last traded at $10.13, with a volume of 2,313,859 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on STNE shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $7.00 target price (down previously from $16.50) on shares of StoneCo in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised StoneCo to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on StoneCo from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on StoneCo from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.89.

StoneCo Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 2.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.09 and a 200 day moving average of $12.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of StoneCo during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of StoneCo during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of StoneCo by 90.2% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 4,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $125,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of StoneCo during the 2nd quarter valued at $135,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.19% of the company’s stock.

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.