QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a drop of 19.9% from the January 15th total of 1,860,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 497,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

QNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of QuinStreet in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Lake Street Capital raised their target price on shares of QuinStreet from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of QuinStreet in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of QuinStreet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of QuinStreet from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.80.

Insider Activity at QuinStreet

In other QuinStreet news, CEO Douglas Valenti sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $250,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,836,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,955,585.08. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stuart Huizinga sold 2,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $68,540.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 171,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,954,229. This trade represents a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $481,674 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On QuinStreet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of QuinStreet by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,002,030 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $92,327,000 after buying an additional 26,169 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in QuinStreet by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,233,345 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,724,000 after acquiring an additional 109,892 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of QuinStreet by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,228,568 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,413,000 after purchasing an additional 201,052 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in QuinStreet by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,989,976 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,068,000 after purchasing an additional 41,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in QuinStreet by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,297,160 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,933,000 after buying an additional 26,394 shares during the last quarter. 97.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuinStreet Price Performance

QNST traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.64. 615,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 458,301. QuinStreet has a fifty-two week low of $14.14 and a fifty-two week high of $26.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.78.

QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The technology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.21). QuinStreet had a negative net margin of 1.31% and a negative return on equity of 4.16%. Equities research analysts expect that QuinStreet will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

QuinStreet Company Profile

QuinStreet, Inc, an online performance marketing company, provides customer acquisition services for its clients in the United States and internationally. The company offers online marketing services, such as qualified clicks, leads, calls, applications, and customers through its websites or third-party publishers.