StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Trading Up 7% – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on STNE shares. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of StoneCo from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded StoneCo to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on StoneCo from $21.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.50.

StoneCo Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 2.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $8.77 and a 200 day moving average of $10.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of StoneCo by 166.7% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of StoneCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of StoneCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new stake in StoneCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $125,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in StoneCo by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 3,878 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.19% of the company’s stock.

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.