Short Interest in Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLNT) Rises By 295.4%

Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLNT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 200,168 shares, an increase of 295.4% from the May 31st total of 50,628 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 354,357 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Fluent

In other news, Director James Geygan purchased 60,183 shares of Fluent stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2.75 per share, for a total transaction of $165,503.25. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,100,838 shares in the company, valued at $8,527,304.50. This represents a 1.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Global Value Investment Corp. purchased 61,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.75 per share, with a total value of $168,762.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 3,151,044 shares in the company, valued at $8,665,371. This represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 132,736 shares of company stock valued at $358,260 and sold 29,120 shares valued at $75,197. Insiders own 38.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FLNT. Mink Brook Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Fluent during the 3rd quarter worth $634,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Fluent by 117.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 508,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 274,533 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fluent by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 144,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 44,684 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Fluent during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its stake in Fluent by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 39,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 15,777 shares during the period. 23.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fluent Stock Performance

Shares of FLNT stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $3.44. The company had a trading volume of 6,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,006. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Fluent has a one year low of $1.70 and a one year high of $4.15. The company has a market capitalization of $102.72 million, a PE ratio of -3.96 and a beta of 0.89.

Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by $0.02. Fluent had a negative return on equity of 132.41% and a negative net margin of 12.22%.The firm had revenue of $44.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.80 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fluent will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on shares of Fluent in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Fluent from $2.50 to $3.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $4.25.

Fluent Company Profile

Fluent, Inc is a performance marketing and customer acquisition platform that helps consumer brands drive leads and sales through data-driven digital campaigns. The company specializes in direct-response marketing, executing campaigns across multiple channels including email, display, paid search, social media and native advertising. By focusing on measurable outcomes such as cost per acquisition and return on ad spend, Fluent tailors solutions to meet the specific objectives of its clients.

The company’s proprietary technology leverages first-party data sourced from its network of consumer-facing digital properties and programmatic partnerships.