Invesco Boosts Samsara Stake as Insiders Move Shares and Analysts Weigh In on Stock
Invesco Ltd. increased its holding in Samsara Inc. by 20.1% in the first quarter, the latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows. The institutional investor owned 4,174,153 Samsara shares after purchasing an additional 697,208 shares, bringing its stake to about 0.73% of the company, valued at roughly $159.99 million at the end of the quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also been active with Samsara. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its Samsara stake by 262.0% in the fourth quarter, now holding 572 shares valued at about $25,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. expanded its position by 300.0% in the first quarter to 600 shares worth around $25,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. opened a new position in the stock in the first quarter valued at about $31,000, while Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC added a new position in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. CWM LLC increased its Samsara holdings by 385.3% in the first quarter to 1,053 shares, valued at about $40,000. Overall, institutional investors own about 96.02% of Samsara.
Samsara’s stock performance and fundamentals
Samsara shares traded up by $1.29 on Friday, hitting $33.51 as trading progressed. The session saw about 3.78 million shares change hands, below the average daily volume of around 4.67 million. The company’s 52-week range runs from a low of $31.40 to a high of $61.90. Samsara has a market capitalization near $19.08 billion, with a price-earnings ratio of -152.32 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.09 and a 200-day moving average of $41.95.
In its latest quarterly results, Samsara posted earnings of $0.11 per share, topping consensus estimates of $0.06. Revenue for the quarter reached $366.88 million, ahead of expectations of about $351.44 million. The company reported a negative return on equity of 11.14% and a negative net margin of 9.04%, though revenue grew about 30.7% year over year. For the current fiscal year, analysts on average expect Samsara to post a loss of around $0.30 per share.
Analyst commentary and targets
Several analysts have weighed in on Samsara recently. BMO Capital Markets lifted its price target from $48 to $54 and reiterated an outperform rating in a note issued on June 2. Wells Fargo & Co. increased its target to $50 and assigned an overweight rating in a June 6 report. Wall Street Zen revised Samsara to a hold from a buy rating in a note published August 9. Evercore ISI set a $45 price objective in a June 25 report. Piper Sandler maintained an overweight rating and trimmed the target to $47 from $53 in a August 7 note. Overall, nine analysts rate the stock a hold and eight rate it a buy, with the average target price around $50.21, according to MarketBeat data cited in recent coverage.
Insider activity and ownership
In notable insider transactions, Marc L. Andreessen, a director, sold 399,026 Samsara shares on June 10 at an average price of $41.33, for about $16.49 million. Parallel Fund Iv L.P. Ah, a major shareholder, also sold 399,026 shares on the same day at the same average price, realizing roughly $16.49 million. Over the past quarter, insiders collectively sold about 2.93 million shares worth around $119.97 million. Despite these sales, company insiders still own about 46.49% of Samsara’s stock.
About Samsara
Samsara provides solutions that link physical operations data to its connected operations cloud. Its Connected Operations Cloud includes a Data Platform that ingests, aggregates, and enriches data from Samsara’s IoT devices, with embedded capabilities for artificial intelligence, workflows, analytics, alerts, API connections, and data security and privacy.
Bottom line and takeaways
– A broad base of institutional investors has increased exposure to Samsara, signaling continued interest in the company’s growth trajectory.
– Samsara’s latest quarter shows revenue strength and an earnings beat at the top end of expectations, though profitability remains a challenge with negative margins and negative earnings outlook guidance.
– Analysts have mixed but progressively constructive views, with several price-target increases and a mix of hold and buy ratings.
– Insider selling by high-profile holders has been substantial in the past quarter, even as large shareholders maintain a sizable stake in the company.
If you’re evaluating Samsara, key considerations include the growth in revenue versus ongoing profitability, how the stock is valued given its negative earnings trajectory, and how ongoing insider movements and major institutional ownership might influence its near-term direction. The company’s ongoing expansion into connected operations and AI-enabled analytics remains central to its growth thesis, even as the market weighs near-term profitability.