Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Stock Price Down 6.8% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) fell 6.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $34.55 and last traded at $34.77. 246,078 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average session volume of 240,649 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LQDT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Liquidity Services Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 55.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 5.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jorge Celaya sold 16,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $564,014.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,146,032.80. This represents a 32.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of Liquidity Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $1,661,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 103,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,443,585.20. The trade was a 32.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 101,668 shares of company stock worth $3,331,558. Corporate insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liquidity Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LQDT. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 198,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,974,000 after acquiring an additional 16,736 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Liquidity Services by 5.2% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 48,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Liquidity Services during the third quarter worth approximately $298,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liquidity Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,749,000. 71.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.