Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Reaches New 1-Year High on Strong Earnings

Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $39.72 and last traded at $36.24, with a volume of 89321 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.85.

The business services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 5.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Craig Hallum increased 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. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidity Services

In other Liquidity Services news, EVP John Daunt sold 4,546 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.68, for a total transaction of $144,017.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,029.12. This trade represents a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Edward Kolodzieski sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.90, for a total transaction of $63,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,605.10. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 101,668 shares of company stock valued at $3,331,558 in the last three months. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidity Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in Liquidity Services during the third quarter worth $488,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Liquidity Services by 307.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 29,746 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 102.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 30,360 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidity Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,311,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the third quarter worth approximately $518,000. 71.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liquidity Services Stock Up 17.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.03 and a 200-day moving average of $25.85. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.69 and a beta of 1.36.

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.