Ahead of Spotify’s Q2 earnings release, analysts have different opinions about the outlook of Spotify stock (NYSE: SPOT).
Despite remaining just above $301 per share, Spotify stock (NYSE: SPOT) is down almost five percent during the past week – and analysts appear divided about its outlook.
At the time of this writing, Spotify stock was worth $301.08 per share, up about 59.5 percent from 2024’s beginning and north of 87 percent from mid-July of 2023. Nevertheless, the figure also reflects the mentioned five percent falloff across the last week or so.
Though it perhaps goes without saying, that slip could well be the result of broader market trends, including but not limited to inflation data and the adjacent rate outlook. Even so, the relative SPOT cooldown (and the business’s quick-approaching Q2 earnings release) has created an opportunity for analysts to examine the stock’s path forward.
Taking a bearish view is Redburn Atlantic’s Agnieszka Pustula, who’s settled on a sell rating and a $230 SPOT target price. In short, notwithstanding Spotify’s recent profits, the analyst voiced the belief that expectations for growth – such as $100 billion in annual revenue by 2032 – are simply too ambitious.
That’s in part because of continued pressure on the consumer as well as the related impact of price increases. And as a Vox writer and now-former Spotify subscriber explored today, competing platforms like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music are perhaps increasingly appealing due to their bundles and more.
Incidentally, Pustula’s less-than-optimistic stance isn’t confined to Spotify; the media research analyst likewise slapped a sell rating on Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: WMG) and Universal Music Group (UMG on the Euronext Amsterdam).
However, others are rather bullish on Spotify and the wider music space. KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson, for instance, maintained an overweight rating for SPOT and upped his target price from $400 to a staggering $410. Of course, that’s a full $110 more than Spotify stock’s current per-share value and a whopping $180 more than Redburn Atlantic’s target.
Jefferies, for its part, is similarly positive and today issued a buy rating while setting a $385 SPOT target price (up from $242).
With Spotify poised to post its second-quarter financials on the 23rd, we’ll soon have clear-cut details about where the company (and SPOT) is heading. In general, execs including an incoming CFO are aiming to bolster revenue, reduce spending, and maximize profitability – with some of the involved moves proving highly controversial to say the least.
And just to scratch the surface of the specifics behind that overview, the monetization of podcasting and user interaction remain key focuses, as does the revenue associated with ad-supported listening. Nothing is set in stone regarding attempts to increase the latter – Spotify continues to post job listings for advertising higher-ups – but Sony Music head Rob Stringer has rather directly called for the implementation of “a modest fee” on heretofore free accounts in developed markets.
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