StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

STNE has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of StoneCo from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Santander cut shares of StoneCo from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of StoneCo in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.50.

StoneCo Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:STNE opened at $13.79 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.85 and its 200 day moving average is $16.59. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.43. StoneCo has a 1 year low of $8.95 and a 1 year high of $19.95.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. StoneCo had a return on equity of 21.55% and a net margin of 15.38%.The business had revenue of $675.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.26 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that StoneCo will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STNE. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of StoneCo during the 1st quarter valued at about $902,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in StoneCo during the first quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in StoneCo during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,825,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in StoneCo by 60.9% in the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 29,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 11,274 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in StoneCo in the second quarter worth approximately $216,000. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More StoneCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting StoneCo this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY‑2027 and FY‑2026 EPS guidance well above consensus (FY‑2027: 2.19–2.48 vs. consensus ~1.91; FY‑2026: 2.00–2.11 vs. consensus ~1.95), signaling better-than-expected profitability expectations that can justify re-rating. (Guidance update)
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG issued a “Buy” rating on StoneCo, providing buy-side support that can attract demand from investors who follow broker recommendations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded StoneCo from “strong sell” to “hold”, reducing bearish analyst pressure and removing a negative rating from the consensus picture. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary advocating an aggressive buyback strategy suggests management or activists could pursue share repurchases, which would be supportive of the stock if executed. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings call coverage highlighted robust financial growth alongside strategic shifts — useful context for investors but mixed on whether near‑term trends improve. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Benzinga summarized multiple analyst views (a mix of buys, holds and sells), reflecting no clear consensus that would drive a sustained one‑way move absent fresh catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha note downgraded StoneCo from Buy to Hold, arguing Q4 weakness, pricing-driven zero card growth, rising churn and margin pressure justify a lower multiple — this critique could weigh on investor confidence and valuation. Article Title

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd., commonly known as Stone, is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides integrated digital payment solutions and related financial services to merchants. Through its cloud-based platform, Stone enables businesses of all sizes to accept a variety of payment methods, including point-of-sale (POS) terminals, mobile card readers and e-commerce gateways. In addition to payment acceptance, the company offers value-added services such as working capital loans, digital banking products and automated billing tools designed to help merchants manage cash flow and streamline operations.

Since its founding in 2012 by André Street and Eduardo Pontes, Stone has focused on serving over half a million merchants across Brazil’s retail, restaurant and services sectors.