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

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.50.

Several brokerages have commented on GRPN. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of Groupon in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Northland Securities set a $26.00 target price on shares of Groupon in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Groupon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Groupon in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Groupon in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Groupon

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Groupon by 92.7% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,299 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Groupon by 48.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,938 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Groupon by 10.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,618 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Groupon in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Groupon by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,340 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Groupon Stock Performance

GRPN opened at $27.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.10. Groupon has a one year low of $9.17 and a one year high of $43.08. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.71 and a beta of 0.23.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The coupon company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $117.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.65 million. As a group, analysts predict that Groupon will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.