Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $678.81, but opened at $636.10. Intuit shares last traded at $644.33, with a volume of 430,744 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on INTU. Scotiabank began coverage on Intuit in a research report on Monday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $700.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Intuit from $730.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Intuit from $690.00 to $795.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Intuit from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Intuit from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Intuit has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $737.06.

Intuit Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $634.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $630.89. The stock has a market cap of $182.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.25.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.14. Intuit had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 18.19%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Intuit Inc. will post 14.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intuit

In related news, CFO Sandeep Aujla sold 862 shares of Intuit stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $621.03, for a total transaction of $535,327.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,384,755.20. This trade represents a 18.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eve B. Burton sold 2,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.87, for a total transaction of $1,941,811.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,297 shares of company stock worth $35,220,046. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intuit

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Intuit in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Intuit in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Intuit in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Intuit in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intuit during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

About Intuit

Intuit Inc provides financial management and compliance products and services for consumers, small businesses, self-employed, and accounting professionals in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Small Business & Self-Employed, Consumer, Credit Karma, and ProTax.