Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) Stock Rating Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ADV. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Advantage Solutions from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Advantage Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Advantage Solutions in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Advantage Solutions has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

Advantage Solutions Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADV opened at $27.25 on Monday. Advantage Solutions has a 12-month low of $12.23 and a 12-month high of $47.45. The firm has a market cap of $349.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.28 and a beta of 2.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77.

Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($4.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($4.42). The firm had revenue of $757.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $887.30 million. Advantage Solutions had a negative net margin of 7.65% and a negative return on equity of 48.15%. Research analysts expect that Advantage Solutions will post 0.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advantage Solutions

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CastleKnight Management LP increased its stake in Advantage Solutions by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 11,794,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,380,000 after buying an additional 1,806,891 shares during the period. State Street Corp purchased a new position in Advantage Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,913,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Advantage Solutions by 7.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advantage Solutions during the second quarter valued at about $456,000. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions Inc (NASDAQ: ADV) is a provider of outsourced sales and marketing services for consumer goods manufacturers, retailers and other brands. The company helps clients plan and execute strategies intended to improve brand visibility, customer engagement and sales across retail and digital channels.

Its services include retail merchandising, sales management, brand and shopper marketing, experiential marketing, digital commerce, business analytics and media services. Advantage Solutions works with clients across categories such as food and beverage, household products, health and wellness, beauty and personal care, and consumer technology.

The company serves businesses primarily across North America through a network of field representatives, marketing professionals and specialized service teams.