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

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Liquidity Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LQDT traded down $1.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.31. The company had a trading volume of 385,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,759. Liquidity Services has a 52 week low of $16.79 and a 52 week high of $39.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 45.75 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50 day moving average price is $33.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.84.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Liquidity Services had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 20.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Steven Weiskircher sold 10,815 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.99, for a total transaction of $367,601.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,985,049.99. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $1,661,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 103,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,443,585.20. This represents a 32.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 157,388 shares of company stock valued at $5,263,991 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Liquidity Services during the third quarter worth $48,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the third quarter valued at about $1,311,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Liquidity Services by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 237,725 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,420,000 after purchasing an additional 11,022 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its stake in Liquidity Services by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 367,302 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in Liquidity Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $488,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.