StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $9.27, but opened at $9.90. StoneCo shares last traded at $10.13, with a volume of 2,313,859 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on STNE shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of StoneCo from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of StoneCo to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $7.00 price target (down previously from $16.50) on shares of StoneCo in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of StoneCo from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Susquehanna cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.89.

StoneCo Trading Up 10.7 %

The business's 50-day moving average is $11.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 2.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StoneCo

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of StoneCo during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of StoneCo during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of StoneCo by 90.2% during the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 4,798 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC acquired a new position in StoneCo in the 1st quarter valued at about $172,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new position in StoneCo in the 3rd quarter valued at about $125,000. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

StoneCo Company Profile

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.