Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $30.63, but opened at $29.96. Liquidity Services shares last traded at $30.19, with a volume of 30,131 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LQDT. Craig Hallum upped their target price on Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Liquidity Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Liquidity Services Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.17 and a 200-day moving average of $27.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $960.19 million, a P/E ratio of 41.24 and a beta of 1.26.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The business services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Liquidity Services had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 20.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liquidity Services news, VP Mark A. Shaffer sold 6,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.59, for a total value of $213,717.95. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 36,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,284,193.97. The trade was a 14.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Novelette Murray sold 7,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.96, for a total value of $269,574.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,228,706.76. This trade represents a 17.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 170,326 shares of company stock valued at $5,710,365 in the last ninety days. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liquidity Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LQDT. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidity Services during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Liquidity Services during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Liquidity Services by 257.6% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $132,000. 71.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liquidity Services Company Profile

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.