StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Upgraded at Zacks Research

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on STNE. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StoneCo in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Santander lowered shares of StoneCo from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of StoneCo from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of StoneCo in a research report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StoneCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

StoneCo Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ STNE opened at $14.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34, a PEG ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.37. StoneCo has a one year low of $8.95 and a one year high of $19.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $15.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.61.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. StoneCo had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 21.55%. The business had revenue of $675.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $704.26 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that StoneCo will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StoneCo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in StoneCo by 274.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in StoneCo during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of StoneCo by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 282,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,177,000 after acquiring an additional 27,637 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 193.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 44,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 29,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,626,000. Institutional investors own 73.19% of the company’s stock.

More StoneCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting StoneCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: StoneCo raised FY2027 EPS guidance to 2.190–2.480, well above the consensus ~1.91 — this materially beats expectations and supports better forward earnings visibility and valuation upside.
• Positive Sentiment: StoneCo also lifted FY2026 EPS guidance to 2.000–2.110, slightly above the ~1.95 consensus — near-term upside to estimates that can help the stock re-rate.
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research issued a “Buy” rating, which can attract demand from institutional and retail buyers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor write-ups pushing for a share buyback (aiming to secure a double-digit buyback yield) highlight potential capital-return optionality that could support the stock if executed. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage roundups and analyst note compilations provide mixed perspectives; these summaries (e.g., Benzinga’s analyst outlook) increase visibility but don’t move fundamentals by themselves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings call recaps highlight “robust financial growth” but note strategic shifts — useful context for investors evaluating whether guidance upgrades are sustainable. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha downgraded StoneCo from Buy to Hold, calling out weak Q4 execution: pricing-driven revenue growth with zero card growth, rising churn, and margin pressure — these risks could undermine the sustainability of the guidance and justify a lower multiple. Article Title

About StoneCo

StoneCo Ltd., commonly known as Stone, is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides integrated digital payment solutions and related financial services to merchants. Through its cloud-based platform, Stone enables businesses of all sizes to accept a variety of payment methods, including point-of-sale (POS) terminals, mobile card readers and e-commerce gateways. In addition to payment acceptance, the company offers value-added services such as working capital loans, digital banking products and automated billing tools designed to help merchants manage cash flow and streamline operations.

Since its founding in 2012 by André Street and Eduardo Pontes, Stone has focused on serving over half a million merchants across Brazil’s retail, restaurant and services sectors.