StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.06, but opened at $12.64. StoneCo shares last traded at $12.62, with a volume of 632,556 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STNE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on StoneCo from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of StoneCo from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of StoneCo from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of StoneCo from $5.70 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of StoneCo from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.38.

StoneCo Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.95. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.07. StoneCo had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The firm had revenue of $582.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. Research analysts anticipate that StoneCo Ltd. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of StoneCo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in StoneCo by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 21,082 shares of the company's stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in StoneCo by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 7,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in StoneCo by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 176,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in StoneCo by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 20,781 shares of the company's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of StoneCo by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 15,051 shares of the company's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.