JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) Short Interest Up 18.7% in December

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 211,800 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the December 15th total of 178,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 92,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John Louis Kimble sold 48,253 shares of JAKKS Pacific stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total value of $1,332,747.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 95,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,638,925.28. The trade was a 33.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JAKKS Pacific

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of JAKKS Pacific by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 269,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,835,000 after acquiring an additional 116,519 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of JAKKS Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at about $527,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of JAKKS Pacific by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 198,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,057,000 after acquiring an additional 12,809 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in JAKKS Pacific by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,777,000 after purchasing an additional 5,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC raised its position in JAKKS Pacific by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 152,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,733,000 after purchasing an additional 38,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.38% of the company’s stock.

JAKKS Pacific Price Performance

JAKK stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.70. 47,531 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,958. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.08. JAKKS Pacific has a 12 month low of $17.06 and a 12 month high of $36.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 2.23.

JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.24 by $1.36. JAKKS Pacific had a return on equity of 15.27% and a net margin of 4.87%. The firm had revenue of $321.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.44 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that JAKKS Pacific will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on JAKK shares. StockNews.com upgraded JAKKS Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. B. Riley boosted their target price on JAKKS Pacific from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

JAKKS Pacific Company Profile

JAKKS Pacific, Inc designs, produces, markets, sells, and distributes toys and related products, electronic products, and other consumer products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Toys/Consumer Products and Costumes. The company offers action figures and accessories, such as licensed characters; toy vehicles and accessories; dolls and accessories, including small, large, fashion, and baby dolls based on licenses, as well as infant and pre-school products; private label products; and foot-to-floor ride-on products.