Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:EEFT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $94.42, but opened at $104.00. Euronet Worldwide shares last traded at $105.71, with a volume of 231,581 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EEFT shares. Citigroup cut shares of Euronet Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Euronet Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Euronet Worldwide from $135.00 to $128.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Euronet Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.14.

Euronet Worldwide Trading Up 9.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Insider Activity at Euronet Worldwide

In related news, CEO Nikos Fountas sold 21,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.56, for a total transaction of $2,224,365.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 52,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,423,437.20. This trade represents a 29.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Caponecchi sold 52,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.61, for a total value of $5,547,344.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,288 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,603.68. This represents a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,910 shares of company stock valued at $8,780,102 over the last 90 days. 10.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 4,216 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Euronet Worldwide by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 248,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,540,000 after purchasing an additional 55,345 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Euronet Worldwide by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 123,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,689,000 after purchasing an additional 24,829 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 15,240.0% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Euronet Worldwide by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 2,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Euronet Worldwide

Euronet Worldwide, Inc provides payment and transaction processing and distribution solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers, and individual consumers worldwide. It operates through three segments: Electronic Fund Transfer Processing, epay, and Money Transfer. The Electronic Fund Transfer Processing segment provides electronic payment solutions, including automated teller machine (ATM) cash withdrawal and deposit services, ATM network participation, outsourced ATM and point-of-sale (POS) management solutions, credit and debit and prepaid card outsourcing, card issuing, and merchant acquiring services.