Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

Several analysts have weighed in on GRPN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Groupon in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Groupon from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Groupon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th.

Groupon Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:GRPN opened at $16.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.16, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.20. Groupon has a one year low of $9.21 and a one year high of $43.08. The company has a market capitalization of $657.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.62 and a beta of 0.02.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The coupon company reported ($2.92) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($2.93). The firm had revenue of $122.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.99 million. Groupon had a negative return on equity of 717.37% and a negative net margin of 28.52%. Sell-side analysts predict that Groupon will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Groupon

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Continental General Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of Groupon by 28.3% during the second quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 2,929,832 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $98,003,000 after purchasing an additional 647,100 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 383,277 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Groupon by 59.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,167,422 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $39,050,000 after buying an additional 434,963 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Groupon by 552.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,136,524 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $38,017,000 after buying an additional 962,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tyro Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Groupon by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tyro Capital Management LLC now owns 1,091,095 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $25,477,000 after acquiring an additional 69,378 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Groupon Company Profile

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.