What happened
Shares of Groupon (GRPN -0.67%) climbed today, up by 5% as of 11 a.m. EDT, after getting a bullish vote of confidence from Wall Street. Ascendiant Capital boosted its price target on Groupon stock, pointing to economic recoveries.
So what
Ascendiant Capital analyst Edward Woo increased his price target on Groupon shares from $42 to $70 following the e-commerce technology company's first-quarter earnings release last month, which beat analyst expectations. Ascendiant Capital reiterated its overall buy rating on Groupon, suggesting that the stock offers a compelling risk/reward profile for investors at current prices.
Image source: Groupon.
Economies in North America are recovering strongly as vaccines are distributed, leading to "significant improvements" in Groupon's business. North America is "improving much faster than International due to improved vaccine rollouts and reopened economies," Woo said. North America is Groupon's largest geographical segment, with gross bookings of $382.5 million in the first quarter, compared to international gross bookings of $171.4 million.
Now what
Woo's new price target represents 56% potential upside from yesterday's closing price. Groupon continues to transition to a third-party marketplace model. That shift has already been completed in North America, and the company says that the international segment's transition will be "substantially complete" by early in the third quarter.
Groupon raised its full-year guidance last month and now expects to generate revenue of $950 million to $990 million in 2021, which should translate into adjusted EBITDA of $110 million to $120 million.
