LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RAMP) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RAMP) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,733,873 shares, a growth of 31.0% from the February 12th total of 2,087,247 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,209,044 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,209,044 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded LiveRamp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Benchmark lowered their target price on LiveRamp from $53.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on LiveRamp from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LiveRamp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on LiveRamp from $45.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.40.

LiveRamp Price Performance

RAMP stock traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.95. 668,831 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,012,054. LiveRamp has a 1-year low of $21.71 and a 1-year high of $35.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37 and a beta of 1.12.

LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. LiveRamp had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 6.40%. The business had revenue of $212.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that LiveRamp will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

LiveRamp announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in LiveRamp in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of LiveRamp in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of LiveRamp by 197.0% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of LiveRamp during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LiveRamp by 63.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.83% of the company’s stock.

About LiveRamp

LiveRamp Holdings, Inc is a leading provider of data connectivity and identity resolution services for marketers, publishers and platforms. The company’s core technology enables organizations to link disparate data sources—such as CRM systems, web engagements and offline transaction records—into a single, privacy-safe view of individual consumers. By standardizing and anonymizing identifiers, LiveRamp’s platform facilitates targeted media activation, measurement and analytics across digital, mobile, addressable TV and offline channels.

The company offers a suite of products designed to support every stage of the data lifecycle.