Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.11.

BOX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America began coverage on BOX in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of BOX in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of BOX from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of BOX from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of BOX in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Activity at BOX

In related news, CFO Dylan C. Smith sold 13,000 shares of BOX stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.05, for a total value of $403,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,466,684 shares in the company, valued at $45,540,538.20. This trade represents a 0.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Aaron Levie sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total transaction of $320,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,979,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,591,342.40. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,705 shares of company stock valued at $2,375,998. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BOX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of BOX in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in BOX by 715.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in BOX by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,194 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BOX by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of BOX during the fourth quarter valued at about $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.74% of the company’s stock.

BOX Stock Up 0.6 %

BOX opened at $31.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.40, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.67 and a 200-day moving average of $32.61. BOX has a 12-month low of $24.63 and a 12-month high of $35.74.

BOX declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, March 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About BOX

Box, Inc engages in the provision of an enterprise content platform that enables organizations to securely manage enterprise content while allowing easy, secure access and sharing of this content from anywhere, on any device. Its products include cloud content management, IT and admin controls, Box Governance, Box Zones, Box Relay, Box Shuttle, and Box KeySafe.