Groupon CTO Sri Viswanath sold 11,703 shares in an open market transaction on Monday, March 2. The executive sold the shares at an average price of $8.15, and the total transaction amounted about $95,380. After the sale, Viswanath owns 78,765 shares worth approximately $641,900, according to a filing with the SEC.
Groupon showing impressive growth prospects
Groupon posted impressive earnings for the fourth quarter on the back of its top line growth of 20%, which was better than expectations. Market watchers appreciated the results, pushing the stock up by more than 10%.
For 2015, Groupon is expecting top line growth to be more than 15% even though revenue growth is expected to only between 4% and 11% during the first quarter. Additionally, the long-term outlook is encouraging with revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth expected to be over 20% and 25% respectively by 2017.
Groupon is taking long shots in mobile platform development as mobile commerce is rising fast, driven by rising internet usage on mobile devices. Groupon gets half of its business from mobile, and presently in some markets, this figure is even higher at around 65%. Groupon’s cumulative app downloads were over 110 million recently, suggesting it to be positioned well to take advantage of the growing use of mobile platforms.
Analysts’ ratings on Groupon
Many analysts have released their verdicts on Groupon in recent weeks. Morgan Stanley analysts initiated coverage on Groupon with a research note on Feb. 25, assigning it an Equal Weight rating and a $9 price target. Sterne Agee analysts, in a research note on Feb. 25, gave a Buy rating to Groupon with a price target of $12. Analysts at Credit Suisse, in a research note on Feb. 13, initiated coverage on the stock with a Hold rating and $8 price target. RBC Capital analysts increased their price target on Groupon from $7 to $8 and gave it a Sector Perform rating in a note issued on Feb. 13.
Overall, ten analysts have assigned a Hold rating to the stock while nine have rated it a Buy. Presently, Groupon has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $8.83.
On Tuesday, Groupon closed down 0.98% at $8.05, and year to date, the stock is down by over 2%.
