Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) Shares Down 17.2% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM) fell 17.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $18.10 and last traded at $18.25. 2,376,477 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 1,950,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.03.

Specifically, insider Michael David Dunn sold 2,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.24, for a total value of $45,369.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $529,801.28. This represents a 7.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SYM. Northland Securities upped their target price on shares of Symbotic from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Symbotic in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Symbotic from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James downgraded Symbotic from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Symbotic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Symbotic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.20.

Symbotic Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -249.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $24.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.61.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. Symbotic had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 5.11%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Symbotic Inc. will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Symbotic

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Walmart Inc. bought a new stake in Symbotic in the fourth quarter worth about $355,650,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Symbotic by 100.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 3,110,075 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Symbotic by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,970,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,846,000 after buying an additional 1,452,627 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Symbotic in the fourth quarter valued at $20,754,000. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Symbotic during the 4th quarter valued at $5,704,000.

Symbotic Company Profile

Symbotic Inc, an automation technology company, engages in developing technologies to improve operating efficiencies in modern warehouses. The company automates the processing of pallets and cases in large warehouses or distribution centers for retail companies. Its systems enhance operations at the front end of the supply chain.