Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) Trading 8.1% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) rose 8.1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.65 and last traded at $18.7510. Approximately 202,672 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,620,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GRPN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Groupon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $13.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Groupon in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $26.00 price target on Groupon in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.67.

Groupon Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.02. The company has a market capitalization of $698.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.03 and a beta of 0.25.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last announced 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 business had revenue of $117.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.65 million. Groupon had a negative return on equity of 717.37% and a negative net margin of 20.78%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Groupon, Inc. will post -0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Groupon by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,108,578 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $49,235,000 after purchasing an additional 383,277 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Groupon by 552.5% during 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 buying an additional 962,337 shares during the last quarter. Tyro Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Groupon by 6.8% during the third quarter. Tyro Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,095 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $25,477,000 after buying an additional 69,378 shares during the last quarter. Garnet Equity Capital Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Groupon by 4.4% during 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 buying an additional 40,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Groupon by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 881,422 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $15,522,000 after acquiring an additional 180,992 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Groupon

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.