UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for XP (NASDAQ:XP) Stock Price

XP (NASDAQ:XP) had its price objective dropped by analysts at UBS Group from $37.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 51.92% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on XP. Weiss Ratings raised XP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on XP from $26.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Citigroup downgraded shares of XP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $25.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Santander downgraded shares of XP to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price objective on shares of XP in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.83.

XP Price Performance

NASDAQ:XP traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $15.14. 7,912,356 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,620,182. The company has a quick ratio of 4.80, a current ratio of 4.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.18. XP has a 12 month low of $13.78 and a 12 month high of $32.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.13 and a 200 day moving average of $19.13.

XP (NASDAQ:XP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 17th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. XP had a net margin of 27.20% and a return on equity of 22.19%. The business had revenue of $943.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. XP’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that XP will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other XP news, Director Bruno Constantino Alexandre dos Santos sold 123,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total transaction of $2,413,372.06. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,500,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,370,000. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of XP

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of XP by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 27,163,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,307,000 after buying an additional 2,520,545 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in XP by 23.6% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 9,962,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904,034 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of XP by 33.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,147,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,393 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. raised its position in shares of XP by 1.2% during the third quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 1,843,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,696,000 after purchasing an additional 21,082 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of XP by 2.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,626,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,968,000 after purchasing an additional 37,929 shares during the period. 59.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About XP

XP Inc is a Brazilian financial services company that operates a technology-driven investment and financial products platform. Through its digital channels and network of advisors, the company offers access to products including stocks, bonds, investment funds, exchange-traded funds, insurance and retirement products. It serves individual investors, businesses, institutional clients and independent financial advisors.

The company’s principal brands and businesses include XP, Rico and Clear, which provide brokerage and investment services to different customer segments.