On Tuesday evening after market close, fintech lender SoFi Technologies (US:SOFI) CEO Anthony Noto announced in a Form 4 filing that he had purchased more than $5 million worth of stock over the past few days. News of the filing pushed SOFI shares 1.6% higher in after hours trading.
The filing disclosed that the purchases occurred in three transactions from the 9th to the 12th of December on market prices ranging from $4.29 to $4.58 per share.
In total 1,134,065 shares were purchased at an average price of $4.42 per share with a total transaction value of $5,009,238.
The transaction boosted Noto’s total share count 28.6% higher to a total of 5,087,751 shares following the transaction.
The last time the CEO purchased SOFI shares was back in June of 2022 when around ~180,000 shares were purchased in multiple transactions at prices ranging from $5.36 to $7.07 per share.
Back in June, it seemed as though SOFI shares had initially bottomed out from the post-Covid rally, with the stock already down around -60% for the year by that point.
Since mid-2022 during the last six months, SOFI shares have traded relatively sideways reaching as high as $8 before sinking lower, currently below $5.
The stock has remained under pressure with Joe Biden’s student debt relief program threatening to clear student debt from various lenders’ books. Several courts have halted the notion including the Federal Appeals court blocking the notion in mid November.
Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing several challenges against the forgiveness program with both cases currently in motion to be argued in February or early March.
The court is expected to issue a final decision by the time its term ends in June 2023.
At SoFi’s most recent third quarter investor update in early November, the fintech lender reported 56% total net revenue growth over the year to $423.9 million. New members grew by 424,000 during the quarter to 4.74 million.
Underlying profits measured by adjusted EBITDA grew 332% to $44 million, but net losses also widened by 247% to -$74.2 million. Sales and profit figures both came in ahead of consensus forecasts.
Management also upgraded full-year guidance during the result which includes the expectation to report full year revenue between $1.517 to $1.522 billion and positive adjusted EBITDA between $115 to $120 million. The mid-point of both revisions was ahead of the consensus data.
Fintel’s assessment of officer sentiment gives SOFI a bullish score of 87.33 following the most recent transactions. The score ranks SOFI in 105th place or in the top 1% of 11,747 screened global securities with the highest levels of officer buying activity.
Analysts also remain bullish on the company with a Fintel average consensus target price of $7.82. The chart below from the SOFI forecast page shows the recommendation trends for the stock over 2022. All analysts remain either ‘hold’ or ‘buy’ rated on the stock.
SoFi Technologies has risen 5 ranks this week and is currently the 25th most popular security currently held by retail inventors.
This article originally appeared on Fintel
Sponsored: Find a Qualified Financial Advisor
Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to 3 fiduciary financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
