StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $7.72, but opened at $7.32. StoneCo shares last traded at $7.5550, with a volume of 1,857,251 shares traded.

The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $126.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $715.99 million. StoneCo had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 22.19%. StoneCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.101-2.218 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut StoneCo from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on StoneCo from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group lowered StoneCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $8.50 in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of StoneCo in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $12.60 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StoneCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.30.

Insider Transactions at StoneCo

In other StoneCo news, Director Silvio Morais sold 21,000 shares of StoneCo stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.91, for a total transaction of $208,110.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 11.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StoneCo

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. one8zero8 LLC boosted its stake in StoneCo by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 554,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,177,000 after purchasing an additional 57,407 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in StoneCo by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 388,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,627,000 after purchasing an additional 27,988 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in StoneCo in the third quarter worth about $2,923,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in StoneCo by 106.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 5,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in StoneCo in the third quarter worth about $278,000. 73.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

StoneCo Trading Down 1.9%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd. is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides payment processing and business management solutions, primarily to merchants in Brazil. Its services are designed to help businesses accept and manage payments across in-person and online channels. The company’s offerings include payment terminals, digital payment tools, financial services and software for managing business operations. Through brands such as Stone, Pagar.me and Linx, StoneCo serves businesses ranging from smaller merchants to larger retailers.