Morgan Stanley Increases SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Price Target to $252.00

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $232.00 to $252.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 3.90% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SBAC. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded SBA Communications from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $220.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on SBA Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com downgraded SBA Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.00.

SBA Communications Price Performance

SBAC traded down $2.45 on Wednesday, reaching $242.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 148,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 926,036. The business’s 50 day moving average is $222.13 and its 200 day moving average is $208.68. SBA Communications has a 1 year low of $183.64 and a 1 year high of $258.76. The stock has a market cap of $26.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.67.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by ($0.56). SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 19.22%. The firm had revenue of $660.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $665.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that SBA Communications will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total transaction of $11,048,327.65. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 109,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,328,521.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total transaction of $11,048,327.65. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 109,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,328,521.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total value of $364,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,213,814.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,590 shares of company stock worth $11,483,981. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 191.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,828 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 16,962 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in SBA Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 707,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $179,547,000 after purchasing an additional 19,462 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $7,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in SBA Communications by 596.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 225,128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,113,000 after purchasing an additional 192,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Rock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $1,900,000. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SBA Communications Company Profile

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC.