William Blair Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Spotify Technology $SPOT

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 221,748 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,576 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Spotify Technology were worth $128,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPOT. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of Spotify Technology by 3,800.0% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 39 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spotify Technology during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Spotify Technology Price Performance

Shares of SPOT opened at $518.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $106.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $523.86. Spotify Technology has a 1 year low of $405.00 and a 1 year high of $785.00.

Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Spotify Technology had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 15.56%.Spotify Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Spotify Technology will post 14.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Spotify Technology

In other Spotify Technology news, CEO Alex Norstrom sold 5,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.51, for a total value of $2,606,616.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 69,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,560,425.39. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gustav Soderstrom sold 20,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.72, for a total value of $8,973,189.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 20,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,826,314.24. The trade was a 50.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,102 shares of company stock valued at $21,444,648. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Spotify Technology News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Spotify Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Spotify announced a new AI partnership with Universal Music Group that will let Premium users create licensed AI-generated covers and remixes, opening a potential new revenue stream while giving artists a cut of the economics. Spotify strikes deal with Universal Music to let premium users create AI covers, remixes
• Positive Sentiment: Management reinforced a bullish 2030 outlook, calling for mid-teens annual revenue growth and gross margins of 35% to 40%, which supports the argument that profitability can keep improving. Spotify stock pops on guidance at first investor day since 2022
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised price targets after the event, including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Citizens JMP, and Jefferies, signaling stronger confidence in Spotify’s growth story. Analyst target hikes
• Positive Sentiment: Spotify also introduced new product features tied to engagement and monetization, including AI-generated podcasts, audiobook tools, and reserved concert tickets for top fans, which could deepen user activity and subscription value. Spotify adds AI-powered Q&A and briefing generation features to podcasts
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha opinion piece argued Spotify’s long-term path deserves a premium valuation, but this is more commentary than a new fundamental catalyst. Spotify’s Path Forward Deserves This Premium
• Negative Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha note warned that weaker advertising trends could be a concern, suggesting ad-market softness may remain a headwind even as Spotify’s premium business improves. Spotify: Weaker Advertising Trends Are Becoming A Concern (Downgrade)

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPOT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark decreased their price target on Spotify Technology from $760.00 to $695.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Arete Research upgraded Spotify Technology from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Spotify Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Spotify Technology from $580.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Spotify Technology from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $652.46.

Spotify Technology Company Profile

Spotify Technology is a digital audio streaming company best known for its on-demand music service and a growing portfolio of spoken-word content. Founded in Sweden in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and launched commercially in 2008, the company offers a cross-platform app that enables users to discover, stream and organize music, podcasts and other audio. Its primary consumer products include a free, ad-supported tier and a paid Spotify Premium subscription that provides ad-free listening, offline playback and higher-quality audio streams.