QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a decrease of 19.9% from the January 15th total of 1,860,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 497,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on QNST. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of QuinStreet from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of QuinStreet from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on QuinStreet from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of QuinStreet in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised QuinStreet from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Douglas Valenti sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $250,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,836,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,955,585.08. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stuart Huizinga sold 7,020 shares of QuinStreet stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.21, for a total value of $162,934.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 174,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,059,498.63. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $481,674 in the last quarter. Insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On QuinStreet

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of QuinStreet by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 449,589 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,601,000 after purchasing an additional 127,689 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in QuinStreet by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,989,976 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,068,000 after buying an additional 41,538 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of QuinStreet by 149.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 127,404 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 76,389 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of QuinStreet by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,766 shares of the technology company's stock worth $24,315,000 after acquiring an additional 36,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of QuinStreet by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 495,538 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,480,000 after acquiring an additional 40,236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.83% of the company's stock.

QuinStreet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ QNST traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.66. 434,120 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 526,629. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.82. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of -102.68 and a beta of 1.06. QuinStreet has a twelve month low of $14.14 and a twelve month high of $26.27.

QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The technology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.21). QuinStreet had a negative return on equity of 4.13% and a negative net margin of 1.31%. Equities analysts anticipate that QuinStreet will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About QuinStreet

QuinStreet, Inc, an online performance marketing company, provides customer acquisition services for its clients in the United States and internationally. The company offers online marketing services, such as qualified clicks, leads, calls, applications, and customers through its websites or third-party publishers.