Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) Short Interest Up 17.4% in January

Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,030,000 shares, an increase of 17.4% from the January 15th total of 877,700 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 302,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on LQDT shares. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Liquidity Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Liquidity Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidity Services

In other news, VP Mark A. Shaffer sold 6,005 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.59, for a total transaction of $213,717.95. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 36,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,284,193.97. This represents a 14.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jorge Celaya sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.33, for a total transaction of $264,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $963,625.75. The trade was a 21.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 157,388 shares of company stock valued at $5,263,991. Company insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidity Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Liquidity Services during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

Liquidity Services Stock Performance

LQDT traded up $0.77 on Monday, hitting $36.48. 332,765 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 281,738. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.29 and its 200-day moving average is $26.51. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 48.64 and a beta of 1.36. Liquidity Services has a 12 month low of $16.58 and a 12 month high of $39.72.

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

Liquidity Services Company Profile

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.