Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, a growth of 76.0% from the May 31st total of 988,900 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 499,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on IMMR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Immersion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Immersion in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd.

Immersion Stock Performance

Shares of Immersion stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $9.41. The company had a trading volume of 805,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 599,041. The firm has a market cap of $299.71 million, a PE ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.82. Immersion has a 52-week low of $5.94 and a 52-week high of $11.04.

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The software maker reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.59. Immersion had a net margin of 62.74% and a return on equity of 24.50%. The company had revenue of $43.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.94 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Immersion will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Immersion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a $0.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Immersion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.14%.

Insider Transactions at Immersion

In related news, CFO J Michael Dodson sold 4,947 shares of Immersion stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.68, for a total transaction of $52,833.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 45,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $481,166.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Immersion

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Immersion by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 185,771 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 49,169 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Immersion during the third quarter valued at $142,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Immersion by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,239 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 8,194 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Immersion by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 235,045 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 32,323 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Immersion by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 101,922 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.57% of the company’s stock.

Immersion Company Profile

Immersion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, design, development, and licensing of haptic technologies that allow people to use their sense of touch to engage with and experience various digital products in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides technology, patent, and combined licenses.