SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

On Friday, SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN) experienced significantly higher trading volume than usual. Approximately 50,764,582 shares exchanged hands, marking a 40% increase compared to the previous session's volume of 36,347,176 shares. The stock was last priced at $13.80, following a close of $13.33.

Analyst Opinions

Various research firms have provided their insights on SOUN. Barclays maintained a "neutral" rating and set a price target of $7.00 for the shares in a report dated November 13. HC Wainwright raised their price target from $7.00 to $8.00 and rated the stock as a "buy" in their November 14 report. Similarly, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated their neutral rating with a $7.00 target price on the same date. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded SoundHound AI from a neutral to an overweight rating with a price target increase from $5.00 to $7.00 back on August 9. Lastly, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating with a price objective of $9.50 in a report on September 30. Currently, three investment analysts have given the stock a hold rating, while four have offered buy ratings. According to MarketBeat, the average rating for SoundHound AI is "Moderate Buy," with a mean price target of $7.64.

Stock Performance Overview

SoundHound AI's stock has risen by 7.8% recently. For reference, Cerence, a strong competitor in the AI space, saw its stock price surge by 155% over two days. As for SoundHound AI, its 50-day moving average is currently at $6.27, while its 200-day moving average stands at $5.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58 and a current ratio of 2.58, indicating good short-term financial health. Its debt-to-equity ratio is 0.13, suggesting a low level of debt compared to equity. The market capitalization for SoundHound AI is approximately $5.31 billion, and it has a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.61, with a beta of 3.03, showing higher volatility.

Recent Earnings Report

SoundHound AI released its quarterly earnings report on November 12. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.06) for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. However, the firm reported a negative net margin of 163.58% and a negative return on equity of 55.58%. Revenue for the quarter was $25.10 million, surpassing analyst expectations of $23.02 million. This marks an 88.7% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year, while the company had reported ($0.09) EPS in the prior year. Analysts are forecasting an EPS of -0.38 for the current year.

Insider Transactions

In related news, COO Michael Zagorsek sold 42,001 shares of the company's stock on September 20 at an average price of $4.88, totaling about $204,964.88 for the transaction. After this sale, he still holds 1,473,322 shares valued at around $7,189,811.36, which represents a 2.77% decrease in his ownership. This transaction was filed with the SEC. Additionally, VP Majid Emami sold 94,067 shares on December 2, at an average price of $9.05, totaling roughly $851,306.35. Post-sale, Emami owns 735,685 shares, valued at approximately $6,657,949.25, reflecting an 11.34% decrease in his stock position. Insiders have sold a total of 431,342 shares worth $2,662,350 over the past 90 days, with company insiders holding 12.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investor Activity

Several hedge funds and institutional investors have recently modified their holdings in SoundHound AI. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in SOUN shares by 11.0% during the third quarter, owning 19,000 shares worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887 shares. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings by 13.0%, holding 17,150 shares valued at $80,000 after adding 1,975 shares. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings grew by 11.4% in the second quarter, to 19,468 shares worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its shareholding by 19.5% during the third quarter, now owning 12,255 shares valued at $57,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. expanded its holdings by 24.7%, owning 11,720 shares worth $46,000. Institutional investors now own 19.28% of SoundHound AI's stock.

About SoundHound AI

SoundHound AI, Inc. specializes in developing independent voice artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. These solutions cater to various industries, including automotive, television, IoT, and customer service, allowing businesses to provide high-quality conversational experiences. Their flagship product, the Houndify platform, offers a range of tools to help brands build conversational voice assistants. This includes APIs for text and voice queries, support for custom commands, a library of content domains, and built-in analytics tools.

Stock, Volume, Trading