Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 449,699 Shares of Wix.com Ltd. $WIX

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX) by 47.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,397,962 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 449,699 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Wix.com were worth $145,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Wix.com by 128.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,637,795 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $823,813,000 after buying an additional 2,606,204 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Wix.com by 90.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,390,589 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $602,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,609,989 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Wix.com during the third quarter valued at $183,286,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Wix.com during the third quarter valued at $115,982,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Wix.com in the 3rd quarter valued at $101,903,000. 81.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wix.com Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:WIX opened at $74.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.01. Wix.com Ltd. has a 12 month low of $60.22 and a 12 month high of $191.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.34.

Wix.com (NASDAQ:WIX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The information services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.45. Wix.com had a net margin of 2.54% and a negative return on equity of 70.04%. The company had revenue of $524.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $527.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wix.com Ltd. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wix.com declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information services provider to reacquire up to 40.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WIX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Wix.com in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Wix.com from $181.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Wix.com in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Wix.com from $175.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Wix.com from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $114.00 to $91.00 in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.65.

About Wix.com

Wix.com Ltd. operates a cloud-based platform that enables individuals and businesses to create, manage and develop professional web presences through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. The company’s software-as-a-service model provides hosting, customizable templates and a range of design tools, eliminating the need for coding expertise. Users can choose from a variety of premium plans to access custom domains, enhanced storage, and advanced performance features tailored to personal projects, small businesses and online storefronts.

Beyond its core website builder, Wix offers a suite of complementary services designed to support digital growth and marketing.