Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet cut Liquidity Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th.

Liquidity Services Stock Performance

Shares of LQDT opened at $17.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $551.41 million, a P/E ratio of 29.92 and a beta of 1.38. Liquidity Services has a 52 week low of $12.97 and a 52 week high of $21.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.01.

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

Insider Activity

In other Liquidity Services news, Director George H. Ellis sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.50, for a total transaction of $105,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,402 shares in the company, valued at $339,535. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 29.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 4.8% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 21,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 43,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 29,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 88.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during 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.