Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $36.64 and last traded at $35.99, with a volume of 56586 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on LQDT shares. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Liquidity Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Liquidity Services Trading Up 0.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.24 and a 200-day moving average of $24.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.30 and a beta of 1.37.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 12th. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share 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 earned $0.26 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling at Liquidity Services

In other news, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 50,000 shares of Liquidity Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $1,661,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jorge Celaya sold 16,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $564,014.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 101,668 shares of company stock valued at $3,331,558 in the last three months. Company insiders own 29.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liquidity Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in Liquidity Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,749,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Liquidity Services by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 881,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,092,000 after purchasing an additional 76,794 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,311,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Liquidity Services by 102.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 30,360 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Liquidity Services by 307.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 29,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

About Liquidity Services

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.