StockNews.com Downgrades Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) to Buy

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on LQDT. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Liquidity Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Craig Hallum upped their price target on Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Liquidity Services Stock Performance

Shares of LQDT stock opened at $31.84 on Tuesday. Liquidity Services has a fifty-two week low of $16.79 and a fifty-two week high of $39.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.57. The company has a market cap of $988.28 million, a P/E ratio of 42.45 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Mark A. Shaffer sold 6,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.59, for a total value of $213,717.95. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 36,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,193.97. This represents a 14.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jorge Celaya sold 16,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,146,032.80. The trade was a 32.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 170,326 shares of company stock worth $5,710,365. Insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liquidity Services

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Liquidity Services by 651.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 798,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,790,000 after acquiring an additional 692,390 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Liquidity Services by 826.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 196,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,341,000 after purchasing an additional 175,161 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Liquidity Services by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 457,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,768,000 after purchasing an additional 167,767 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Liquidity Services by 561.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 141,649 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,574,000 after buying an additional 120,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Liquidity Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,477,000. Institutional investors own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

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.