Audio streamer Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) landed some good news today, as did its investors; the Joe Rogan Experience podcast will stay on Spotify. And will do so for the next several years by way of a new multi-year agreement. That was enough to drive Spotify shares up modestly in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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While some might have doubted if the Joe Rogan Experience—which in the past has brought its share of controversy along with it—would be back, the multi-year partnership now cemented makes it clear it will be back. Plus, the deal demonstrates that Spotify has no shortage of ready cash on hand as well; the last deal to keep the Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify set Spotify back $200 million, and it’s a safe bet that Rogan won’t be getting much less this go-round. In fact, some reports are suggesting the latest price tag is up around $250 million.
Spotify Is Getting Aggressive
Spotify is actively working in several directions instead of just pinning its hopes on Joe Rogan. One, it’s fighting back against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and its latest App Store pricing changes, calling the new Core Technology Fee a “…complete and total farce” and labeling it as “extortion.” Further, there are signs that Spotify’s push into the audiobook market is going apace, as, since Spotify got in, audiobook consumption, in general, is up 14% in the United States.
Personally, I can speak to that one; audiobooks have a wide range of use cases, from the car to the lawn mower—I got through most of Dickens while mowing the lawn one summer—so seeing Spotify contribute to that growth doesn’t surprise me.
Is Spotify a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on SPOT stock based on 13 Buys, four Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 82.71% rally in its share price over the past year, the average SPOT price target of $231.25 per share implies 4.17% upside potential.
