SoftBank Group (OTCMKTS:SFTBY) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Underperform

Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of SoftBank Group (OTCMKTS:SFTBY) from a hold rating to an underperform rating in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SFTBY. BTIG Research began coverage on SoftBank Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on SoftBank Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on SoftBank Group in a research note on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised SoftBank Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

SoftBank Group Stock Down 7.0%

SFTBY opened at $11.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $127.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.46. SoftBank Group has a twelve month low of $4.97 and a twelve month high of $22.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $13.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.01.

SoftBank Group (OTCMKTS:SFTBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.44 billion. SoftBank Group had a net margin of 48.62% and a return on equity of 23.66%. As a group, equities analysts expect that SoftBank Group will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting SoftBank Group

Here are the key news stories impacting SoftBank Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: PayPay raised about $880 million in its U.S. IPO, giving SoftBank a path to monetize an affiliate and crystallize value from its ecosystem investments. SoftBank’s PayPay set for hotly anticipated Nasdaq debut after raising $880 million
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded SoftBank to “hold”, a mild vote of confidence that may limit further downside from negative headlines. Zacks Research upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on SoftBank, increasing analyst attention and potentially improving liquidity in coverage and investor dialogue. Coverage Initiated at Cantor Fitzgerald
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies downgraded SoftBank to “Underperform”, explicitly flagging rising valuation and structural risks from SoftBank’s expanding funding and concentrated exposure to OpenAI; this downgrade likely pressured the share price. SoftBank downgraded by Jefferies on rising risks tied to OpenAI investment
• Negative Sentiment: PayPay priced its IPO below the marketed range at $16 per share and raised ~$879.8M — the below-range pricing (cited across reports) signals weaker demand and reduces the mark-up SoftBank might have hoped for from the listing, weighing on perceived asset values. Market jitters tied to geopolitical tension were cited as a factor. SoftBank’s PayPay prices IPO below range at $16 a share PayPay prices IPO below marketed range

SoftBank Group Company Profile

SoftBank Group Corp is a Tokyo‐based multinational conglomerate holding company with a primary focus on technology, telecommunications and investment management. Founded in 1981 by Masayoshi Son, the company initially operated as a software distributor before expanding into mobile communications and internet services. Over the years, SoftBank has built a diversified portfolio that spans telecom operators, semiconductor design, cloud computing, and emerging technology ventures.

A key pillar of SoftBank’s strategy is its investment arm, the SoftBank Vision Fund, which targets high‐growth technology companies around the globe.