Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Shares Down 6.8% – What’s Next?

Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT)’s share price was down 6.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $34.55 and last traded at $34.77. Approximately 246,078 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 240,649 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LQDT shares. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 21st.

Liquidity Services Stock Down 7.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.00 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.60.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 12th. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Liquidity Services had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 18.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $1,661,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 103,660 shares in the company, valued at $3,443,585.20. This trade represents a 32.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jorge Celaya sold 16,540 shares of Liquidity Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $564,014.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,608 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,032.80. This trade represents a 32.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 101,668 shares of company stock worth $3,331,558. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Liquidity Services in the third quarter valued at $2,749,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Liquidity Services by 9.5% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 881,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,092,000 after buying an additional 76,794 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Liquidity Services by 107.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 119,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,856,000 after buying an additional 61,918 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Liquidity Services by 102.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 30,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 307.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 29,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

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.