Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Immersion Put Options (NASDAQ:IMMR)

Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 3,009 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 209% compared to the typical volume of 974 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Eric Singer bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.77 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,912,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,775,843.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Immersion news, CEO Eric Singer purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.77 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,912,867 shares in the company, valued at $16,775,843.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider William C. Martin bought 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.81 per share, with a total value of $132,150.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,364,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,019,174.65. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 66,155 shares of company stock worth $580,675. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Immersion

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IMMR. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Immersion by 10.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,315 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Immersion by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,120 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Immersion by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 50,670 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Immersion by 1.5% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 104,805 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its stake in shares of Immersion by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 104,834 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IMMR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Immersion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BWS Financial lifted their price objective on Immersion from $11.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th.

Immersion Stock Performance

Immersion stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.78. 670,459 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 676,601. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Immersion has a 12 month low of $5.94 and a 12 month high of $13.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.05.

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The software maker reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $99.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 million. Immersion had a return on equity of 27.05% and a net margin of 40.62%. As a group, research analysts predict that Immersion will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Immersion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of $0.045 per share. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Immersion’s payout ratio is currently 13.14%.

About Immersion

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.