Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TheStreet cut Liquidity Services from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Thursday, February 8th.

Liquidity Services Price Performance

Shares of Liquidity Services stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.95. 54,673 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 125,200. The firm has a market capitalization of $551.42 million, a PE ratio of 29.92 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.05. Liquidity Services has a 1-year low of $12.97 and a 1-year high of $21.10.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.02). Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 17.62% and a net margin of 6.03%. The company had revenue of $71.33 million for the quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George H. Ellis sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,402 shares in the company, valued at $339,535. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 29.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LQDT. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 88.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Liquidity Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $112,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Liquidity Services during the 4th quarter worth about $126,000. 71.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.