JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 211,800 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the December 31st total of 178,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 92,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at JAKKS Pacific

In other JAKKS Pacific news, CFO John Louis Kimble sold 48,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total transaction of $1,332,747.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 95,544 shares in the company, valued at $2,638,925.28. This trade represents a 33.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of JAKKS Pacific by 29.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 444,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,961,000 after acquiring an additional 102,155 shares during the last quarter. Philosophy Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in JAKKS Pacific during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,105,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in JAKKS Pacific by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 269,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,835,000 after purchasing an additional 116,519 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in JAKKS Pacific by 6.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 198,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,057,000 after buying an additional 12,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of JAKKS Pacific by 4.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 148,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,777,000 after buying an additional 5,901 shares during the last quarter. 44.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JAKKS Pacific Price Performance

JAKK stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.08. The company had a trading volume of 137,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 71,197. The company has a market capitalization of $330.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 2.23. JAKKS Pacific has a 1-year low of $17.06 and a 1-year high of $36.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.83.

JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.24 by $1.36. The company had revenue of $321.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.44 million. JAKKS Pacific had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 15.27%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that JAKKS Pacific will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JAKK has been the subject of a number of research reports. B. Riley lifted their target price on JAKKS Pacific from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of JAKKS Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, JAKKS Pacific has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

About JAKKS Pacific

JAKKS Pacific, Inc designs, produces, markets, sells, and distributes toys and related products, electronic products, and other consumer products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Toys/Consumer Products and Costumes. The company offers action figures and accessories, such as licensed characters; toy vehicles and accessories; dolls and accessories, including small, large, fashion, and baby dolls based on licenses, as well as infant and pre-school products; private label products; and foot-to-floor ride-on products.