Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) Shares Up 11.8% – Should You Buy?

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) rose 11.8% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $16.83 and last traded at $17.3360. 125,614 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 1,461,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GRPN has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Groupon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Groupon in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Northland Securities set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Groupon in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $16.00 target price on shares of Groupon in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.00.

Groupon Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $711.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.64 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.49 and its 200 day moving average is $17.66.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The coupon company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $124.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $127.09 million. Analysts anticipate that Groupon, Inc. will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Groupon

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Groupon by 92.7% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,299 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Groupon by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,618 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Groupon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $236,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Groupon by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,129 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Groupon by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 15,054 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Groupon Company Profile

Groupon, Inc (NASDAQ: GRPN) operates a global e-commerce marketplace that connects consumers with local merchants, service providers and businesses. Through its website and mobile applications, the company offers customers promotions and vouchers for experiences, dining, beauty and wellness services, entertainment, travel and other locally focused activities.

Groupon also provides deals on selected products and merchandise, giving participating businesses a platform to reach new customers and generate demand.