Sterne Agee has upgraded Groupon (GRPN 11.58%) to a buy, and has given the stock a $9 price target. In this video, however, Motley Fool senior technology analyst Eric Bleeker gives investors a word of caution. He notes that while the company is aiming to expand beyond being an email-based business to becoming a local marketplace portal with longer-term fixed deals, success in the marketplace arena can be a lot easier said than done and offers little to appeal to consumers who weren't already on the company's e-mails. While investors might be excited by Groupon experimenting with new avenues for growth, jumping in now before we've seen whether a marketplace idea can get traction might be premature.
Don't Trust This Groupon Buy Signal
By Eric Bleeker – Feb 13, 2013 at 6:15PM
NASDAQ: GRPN
Groupon
Market Cap
$770M
Today's Change
(-11.58%) $2.50
Current Price
$19.05
Price as of November 4, 2025 at 4:00 PM ET
Groupon gets an upgrade, but investors would be wise to keep a healthy level of skepticism for now.
About the Author
Eric Bleeker, CFA joined The Motley Fool at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. For the next four years he led the Fool's Tech & Telecom sector, both writing articles and providing feedback and ideas to writers. Today, Eric is the General Manager of Fool.com, but still enjoys writing a tech article or two from time to time. Follow @bleekertech