Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.22 EPS

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.22, FiscalAI reports. Acacia Research had a negative net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 2.81%. The firm had revenue of $114.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.50 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Acacia Research’s conference call:

• Q2 results were strong, with revenue of $114.6 million, total company adjusted EBITDA of $17.3 million, and adjusted net income of $12.8 million, or $0.13 per diluted share.
• Acacia ended the quarter with $334.6 million in cash, securities, and loans receivable and no parent-company debt, providing flexibility for acquisitions and investment in existing businesses. Management said its acquisition pipeline is active, particularly for bilateral and distressed opportunities.
• Benchmark delivered record revenue of $20.5 million, $9.8 million of adjusted EBITDA, and $6.5 million of free cash flow; management is evaluating additional wells and expects future drilling economics to be similar to the Cherokee development.
• The intellectual property platform generated approximately $60.6 million in licensing revenue, primarily from a Wi-Fi 6 settlement, but management cautioned that licensing revenue is episodic and is reduced by payments to counsel, inventors, and partners; settlement cash was received after quarter-end.
• Acacia fully wrote down its MalinJ1 investment following liquidity problems at Mycovia, although it is exploring a transaction that could provide direct ownership in Mycovia; any recovery depends on financing and uncertain FDA milestones for VIVJOA.

Acacia Research Price Performance

Shares of Acacia Research stock opened at $4.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 8.56 and a quick ratio of 8.09. Acacia Research has a fifty-two week low of $3.12 and a fifty-two week high of $5.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.56. The company has a market cap of $438.52 million, a PE ratio of -25.22 and a beta of 0.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Acacia Research from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Acacia Research by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,145,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,766,000 after buying an additional 355,916 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Acacia Research by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,758,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,318,000 after acquiring an additional 10,504 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Acacia Research by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 846,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 3,525 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Acacia Research by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 29,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Acacia Research by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 441,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 174,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

About Acacia Research

Acacia Research Corporation is a publicly traded patent licensing company based in New York City. The firm specializes in acquiring patented technologies through a network of wholly owned subsidiaries and seeking licensing agreements or settlements with companies that utilize those technologies. Since its founding in 1993, Acacia has built a business model centered on identifying innovative inventions and monetizing them through patent enforcement and strategic partnerships.

The company’s activities span a broad range of technology sectors, including life sciences, medical devices, software, telecommunications and consumer electronics.