Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Craig Hallum downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $37.41, but opened at $25.07. Craig Hallum now has a $25.00 price target on the stock. Symbotic shares last traded at $23.95, with a volume of 3,439,155 shares.

Several other research analysts have also commented on SYM. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Symbotic from $53.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Symbotic from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BWS Financial reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Symbotic in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Symbotic from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Symbotic in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.69.

Insider Transactions at Symbotic

In related news, CFO Carol J. Hibbard sold 22,821 shares of Symbotic stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.96, for a total value of $660,896.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,188 shares in the company, valued at $990,084.48. This trade represents a 40.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider William M. Boyd III sold 8,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.33, for a total transaction of $250,040.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,929.96. This trade represents a 27.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,878 shares of company stock worth $1,378,056. 38.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Symbotic

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Symbotic by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,426,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,189,000 after purchasing an additional 345,386 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Symbotic by 191.5% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 775,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,281,000 after acquiring an additional 509,700 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Symbotic by 1,347.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 15,491 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Symbotic by 32.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Symbotic by 6,694.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 335,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,801,000 after acquiring an additional 330,709 shares during the last quarter.

Symbotic Trading Down 35.8 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.77. The company has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -400.00 and a beta of 1.81.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 18th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Symbotic had a positive return on equity of 6.54% and a negative net margin of 0.32%. The business had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $470.24 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 47.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Symbotic Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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.