Unity Software (NYSE:U) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $21.47, but opened at $24.68. Unity Software shares last traded at $25.69, with a volume of 20,712,355 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by $0.05. Unity Software had a negative return on equity of 11.30% and a negative net margin of 40.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on U shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Unity Software in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Unity Software from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Unity Software from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Unity Software in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Unity Software from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.81.

Insider Activity at Unity Software

In other news, CAO Mark Barrysmith sold 1,362 shares of Unity Software stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.91, for a total value of $29,841.42. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 452,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,909,367.16. The trade was a 0.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tomer Bar-Zeev sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $6,255,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,648,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,276,612.92. This represents a 6.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 679,264 shares of company stock valued at $16,612,383. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Unity Software by 19.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,243 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Unity Software by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 153,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,478,000 after buying an additional 18,547 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unity Software in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $418,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unity Software by 54.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unity Software by 106.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. 73.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unity Software Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.46 billion, a PE ratio of -12.72 and a beta of 2.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.42 and a 200 day moving average of $20.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

About Unity Software

Unity Software Inc operates a real-time 3D development platform. Its platform provides software solutions to create, run, and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company offers its solutions directly through its online store and field sales operations in North America, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea, as well as indirectly through independent distributors and resellers worldwide.