Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $26.77, but opened at $32.51. Symbotic shares last traded at $31.50, with a volume of 4,681,543 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on SYM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Symbotic in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Symbotic from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Symbotic from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Symbotic in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Symbotic in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.53.

Symbotic Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.06 and its 200 day moving average is $27.56. The company has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a PE ratio of -524.50 and a beta of 1.76.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 18th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Symbotic had a positive return on equity of 6.49% and a negative net margin of 0.32%. The firm had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.08) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 47.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Symbotic Inc. will post 0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael David Dunn sold 63,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.08, for a total value of $1,921,119.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,055 shares in the company, valued at $723,574.40. This represents a 72.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Carol J. Hibbard sold 22,821 shares of Symbotic stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.96, for a total value of $660,896.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,084.48. The trade was a 40.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,844 shares of company stock valued at $3,268,431. Company insiders own 38.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Symbotic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its stake in Symbotic by 32.0% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 14,070,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,410,050 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Symbotic by 191.5% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 775,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,281,000 after acquiring an additional 509,700 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Symbotic by 76.8% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 873,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,317,000 after purchasing an additional 379,726 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Symbotic by 6,694.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 335,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,801,000 after buying an additional 330,709 shares during the period. Finally, Thematics Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Symbotic by 30.1% in the third quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 1,048,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,565,000 after buying an additional 242,661 shares in 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.