Spotify Stock: Credit Suisse Expect 29% Upside

Spotify stock price soared more than 60% since the beginning of this year as lockdowns and social distancing policies have substantially increased active users and streaming time. However, the shares of the streaming and podcast company came under pressure after it missed analyst’s revenue and earnings estimate for the second quarter.
The company’s second-quarter revenue of €1.89 billion was shy of estimates by €30 million but jumped 13% from the previous year period. The shares of the streaming company were trading around an all-time high of $300 before the earnings release. Spotify stock price is currently trading at around $240.

The company has also reported a heavy loss of €1.69 per share, missing analysts’ expectations for the profit of €0.35. Moreover, it has slightly lowered the third quarter and full-year guidance. The guidance also indicates slower growth than expectations.
Spotify expects third-quarter revenue in the range of €1.85 to €2.05 billion compared to the consensus of €2.01 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue is likely to come around €2.05 billion to $2.25 billion. The consensus estimate is around €2.18 billion.
“We believe the improved momentum we saw in the back half of the quarter has continued into Q3 and we expect to hit our full-year targets,” the company said.
Some market analysts still look bullish over the future fundamentals of streaming and podcast giant. Credit Suisse has set a price target of $315 for Spotify shares, indicating a 29% upside from the current level. The firm has raised the rating to outperform from neutral.
The reports and data have also hinted improving podcast ad revenue. For instance, the data from Westwood One and podcast measurement company Magellan AI stated that the top 400 U.S. podcasts has seen a unique advertiser around 666 in June, up sharply from this year’s beginning number of 563. The report says the podcast ad market will increase by 15% this year and 55% in the next year.