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

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on LQDT. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Liquidity Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Liquidity Services Stock Performance

Shares of LQDT opened at $31.59 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.50. The firm has a market cap of $980.52 million, a PE ratio of 42.12 and a beta of 1.36. Liquidity Services has a twelve month low of $16.79 and a twelve month high of $39.72.

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

Insider Activity at Liquidity Services

In other news, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total value of $1,661,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 103,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,443,585.20. This represents a 32.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Beatriz V. Infante sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $176,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 82,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,934,526.40. The trade was a 5.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 170,326 shares of company stock worth $5,710,365 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidity Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidity Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Liquidity Services during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Liquidity Services by 257.6% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Liquidity Services during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Liquidity Services during the 4th quarter valued at $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

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.