Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Acacia Research Co. (NASDAQ:ACTG) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $4.73, but opened at $4.90. Acacia Research shares last traded at $5.03, with a volume of 140,838 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Acacia Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th.

Acacia Research Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 11.17 and a quick ratio of 10.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $4.68 and its 200-day moving average is $5.00.

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The business services provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $25.84 million during the quarter. Acacia Research had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 44.42%.

Institutional Trading of Acacia Research

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACTG. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Acacia Research in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Acacia Research by 15.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,772,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,878,000 after purchasing an additional 233,759 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Acacia Research by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,247,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,980,000 after purchasing an additional 13,692 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Acacia Research by 392.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 142,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 113,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Acacia Research by 146.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 16,735 shares during the period. 86.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Acacia Research

Acacia is a publicly traded (Nasdaq: ACTG) company that is focused on acquiring and operating businesses across the industrial, energy and technology sectors where it believes it can leverage its expertise, significant capital base, and deep industry relationships to drive value. Acacia evaluates opportunities based on the attractiveness of the underlying cash flows, without regard to a specific investment horizon.