Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) Short Interest Up 29.5% in March

Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,670,000 shares, a growth of 29.5% from the February 28th total of 5,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 9.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Playtika

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Playtika by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,534 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Playtika by 146.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Playtika by 148.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Playtika in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Playtika during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.94% of the company’s stock.

Playtika Price Performance

Shares of PLTK stock traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $5.29. 1,839,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,066,718. Playtika has a one year low of $3.97 and a one year high of $9.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $6.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.15.

Playtika Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.56%. Playtika’s payout ratio is presently 90.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PLTK. Bank of America upgraded shares of Playtika from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $6.00 to $6.50 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Macquarie decreased their price target on Playtika from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Playtika from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $11.50 price objective on shares of Playtika in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $9.00) on shares of Playtika in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.09.

Playtika Company Profile

Playtika Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops mobile games in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia pacific, and internationally. The company owns a portfolio of casual and social casino-themed games. It distributes its games to the end customer through various web and mobile platforms and direct-to-consumer platforms.