StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Trading 7% Higher – Should You Buy?

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) rose 7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.60 and last traded at $9.49. Approximately 1,893,699 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 4,819,565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on STNE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on StoneCo from $21.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of StoneCo from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $9.00 target price (down previously from $19.00) on shares of StoneCo in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

StoneCo Stock Down 3.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50-day moving average is $8.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StoneCo

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in StoneCo by 166.7% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in StoneCo during the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new position in StoneCo during the third quarter worth about $125,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in StoneCo by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,878 shares during the last quarter. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About StoneCo

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.