Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) Trading Down 8.6% – Time to Sell?

Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM)’s stock price dropped 8.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $48.51 and last traded at $48.61. Approximately 1,863,459 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 1,928,575 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Symbotic in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Symbotic from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Symbotic from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Symbotic from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Symbotic from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.57.

Symbotic Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $29.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -486.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 2.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.52.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.06). Symbotic had a negative net margin of 0.45% and a negative return on equity of 1.88%. The firm had revenue of $629.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $622.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Symbotic Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Symbotic

In related news, major shareholder Svf Sponsor Iii (De) Llc sold 3,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total value of $186,235,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,590,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,443,900. This represents a 38.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Group Corp. Softbank sold 3,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.21, for a total transaction of $186,235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,590,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $297,443,900. This trade represents a 38.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 7,186,533 shares of company stock valued at $383,607,335 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Symbotic

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Symbotic by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Symbotic by 833.3% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Symbotic during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Symbotic by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 619 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Symbotic by 1,500.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period.

Symbotic Company Profile

Symbotic Inc (NASDAQ: SYM) is a provider of advanced warehouse automation and robotics systems designed to improve throughput, space utilization and labor productivity in distribution centers and fulfillment operations. The company develops integrated hardware and software solutions that automate the storage, retrieval, sorting and palletizing of goods, positioning itself as a systems integrator for material handling challenges faced by large-scale retailers, wholesalers and third-party logistics providers.

Products and services typically include autonomous robotic vehicles and shuttle systems, automated storage-and-retrieval equipment, robotic picking and palletizing cells, conveyors and sortation, together with control and management software that coordinates fleet operations and inventory flow.