Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $39.72 and last traded at $36.24, with a volume of 89321 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.85.

The business services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Liquidity Services had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 18.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LQDT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Liquidity Services in a report on Monday. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liquidity Services news, CFO Jorge Celaya sold 16,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total transaction of $564,014.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,146,032.80. The trade was a 32.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Edward Kolodzieski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total value of $65,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,229 shares in the company, valued at $501,034.10. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 101,668 shares of company stock worth $3,331,558. 28.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LQDT. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Liquidity Services by 9.5% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 881,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,092,000 after purchasing an additional 76,794 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 852,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,433,000 after acquiring an additional 13,947 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 515,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,757,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Liquidity Services by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 367,302 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Liquidity Services by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 237,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,420,000 after purchasing an additional 11,022 shares during the last quarter. 71.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liquidity Services Stock Up 17.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.69 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.85.

Liquidity Services Company Profile

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.