Oppenheimer Initiates Coverage on Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM)

Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 30.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Symbotic from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Symbotic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Symbotic in a report on Monday. BWS Financial restated a “sell” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Symbotic in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded Symbotic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.53.

Symbotic Price Performance

Shares of SYM opened at $26.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -446.17 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.06 and its 200-day moving average is $27.56. Symbotic has a fifty-two week low of $17.11 and a fifty-two week high of $52.20.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Symbotic had a negative net margin of 0.32% and a positive return on equity of 6.49%. The company had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 47.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Symbotic will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Todd Krasnow sold 2,000 shares of Symbotic stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.04, for a total transaction of $48,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 214,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,425.44. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael David Dunn sold 5,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.60, for a total value of $131,979.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,756. This trade represents a 14.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,844 shares of company stock valued at $3,268,431. 38.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Symbotic

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Symbotic by 191.5% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 775,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,281,000 after purchasing an additional 509,700 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Symbotic by 10.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 503,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,290,000 after buying an additional 46,721 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Symbotic during the third quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. Capital Market Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Symbotic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $802,000. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in Symbotic by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 14,070,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,192,000 after acquiring an additional 3,410,050 shares during the last quarter.

About Symbotic

Symbotic Inc, an automation technology company, engages in developing technologies to improve operating efficiencies in modern warehouses. The company automates the processing of pallets and cases in large warehouses or distribution centers for retail companies. Its systems enhance operations at the front end of the supply chain.