NerdWallet, Inc. (NASDAQ:NRDS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

NerdWallet, Inc. (NASDAQ:NRDS) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 5,818,108 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the February 12th total of 4,615,484 shares. Approximately 16.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,269,247 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,269,247 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 16.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at NerdWallet

In related news, insider Samuel Yount sold 3,011 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.61, for a total transaction of $31,946.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 198,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,103,443.11. This represents a 1.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nicholas Tatum sold 10,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.45, for a total transaction of $116,228.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,462.90. This trade represents a 17.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 14,055 shares of company stock valued at $158,401 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRDS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in NerdWallet by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,994,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,977,000 after acquiring an additional 48,205 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in NerdWallet by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,169,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,842,000 after purchasing an additional 55,003 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in NerdWallet by 26.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,133,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,200,000 after purchasing an additional 234,691 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NerdWallet by 9.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 925,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,154,000 after purchasing an additional 81,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of NerdWallet by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 922,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,495,000 after purchasing an additional 28,844 shares during the last quarter. 38.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NerdWallet from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered NerdWallet from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on NerdWallet from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on NerdWallet from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.33.

NerdWallet Price Performance

NRDS stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $10.43. The stock had a trading volume of 334,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,015,130. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.15. NerdWallet has a fifty-two week low of $7.55 and a fifty-two week high of $16.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $696.42 million, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 1.44.

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. NerdWallet had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $225.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. NerdWallet’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NerdWallet will post 0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NerdWallet announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About NerdWallet

NerdWallet (NASDAQ: NRDS) is a personal finance company that offers independent guidance and comparison tools to help consumers make informed financial decisions. Through its website and mobile application, NerdWallet provides a wide range of content, including articles, calculators and reviews covering credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, banking products, investing, insurance and taxes. The platform aggregates partner offers to enable side-by-side comparisons, while editorially maintaining objectivity to support users in identifying the products that best suit their individual needs.

Founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, NerdWallet is headquartered in San Francisco and serves consumers primarily in the United States, with additional localized offerings in Canada and the United Kingdom.