Short Interest in JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) Expands By 5.9%

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 178,500 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the November 30th total of 168,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 86,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

JAKKS Pacific Trading Down 0.3 %

JAKKS Pacific stock opened at $28.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.49 million, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 2.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.10 and a 200-day moving average of $24.26. JAKKS Pacific has a 1 year low of $17.06 and a 1 year high of $36.63.

JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $1.36. JAKKS Pacific had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 4.87%. The company had revenue of $321.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.44 million. Research analysts anticipate that JAKKS Pacific will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other JAKKS Pacific news, CFO John Louis Kimble sold 48,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total transaction of $1,332,747.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 95,544 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,925.28. This trade represents a 33.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in JAKKS Pacific by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 19,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of JAKKS Pacific by 2.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 64,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in JAKKS Pacific during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in JAKKS Pacific by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in JAKKS Pacific by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after buying an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. 44.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JAKK has been the subject of several analyst reports. B. Riley raised their target price on JAKKS Pacific from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of JAKKS Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

About JAKKS Pacific

JAKKS Pacific, Inc designs, produces, markets, sells, and distributes toys and related products, electronic products, and other consumer products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Toys/Consumer Products and Costumes. The company offers action figures and accessories, such as licensed characters; toy vehicles and accessories; dolls and accessories, including small, large, fashion, and baby dolls based on licenses, as well as infant and pre-school products; private label products; and foot-to-floor ride-on products.