Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Liquidity Services Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ LQDT opened at $36.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.44 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.72. Liquidity Services has a 12 month low of $16.79 and a 12 month high of $39.72.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 6.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward Kolodzieski sold 26,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.29, for a total value of $813,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,229 shares in the company, valued at $601,675.41. The trade was a 57.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Steven Weiskircher sold 10,815 shares of Liquidity Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.99, for a total value of $367,601.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,401 shares in the company, valued at $1,985,049.99. This trade represents a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 157,388 shares of company stock worth $5,263,991. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidity Services

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LQDT. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Liquidity Services in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Liquidity Services during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in Liquidity Services by 257.6% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Liquidity Services during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidity Services during the third quarter valued at $48,000. 71.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Liquidity Services

Liquidity Services, Inc provides e-commerce marketplaces, self-directed auction listing tools, and value-added services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: GovDeals, Retail Supply Chain Group (RSCG), Capital Assets Group (CAG), and Machinio. Its marketplaces include liquidation.com that enable corporations to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and retail capital assets; GovDeals marketplace, which provides self-directed service solutions in which sellers list their own assets that enables local and state government entities, and commercial businesses located in the United States and Canada to sell surplus and salvage assets; and AllSurplus, a centralized marketplace that connects global buyer base with assets from across the network of marketplaces in a single destination.