Mitek Systems Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:MITK)

Mitek Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MITK) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 4,012 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 824% compared to the average daily volume of 434 call options.

Mitek Systems Trading Down 3.6%

NASDAQ MITK opened at $14.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $663.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.60 and a 200-day moving average of $10.31. Mitek Systems has a 1-year low of $6.93 and a 1-year high of $15.61.

Mitek Systems (NASDAQ:MITK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $44.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.44 million. Mitek Systems had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 8.67%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mitek Systems will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Mitek Systems by 5.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,717,031 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $36,315,000 after buying an additional 198,068 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Mitek Systems by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,009,368 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $29,793,000 after buying an additional 38,612 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mitek Systems by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,919,576 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $20,252,000 after acquiring an additional 10,105 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mitek Systems by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,655,660 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $17,467,000 after acquiring an additional 35,091 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Mitek Systems by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,352,786 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $13,393,000 after acquiring an additional 271,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MITK shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mitek Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Mitek Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mitek Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

About Mitek Systems

Mitek Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: MITK) is a software company specializing in mobile capture and digital identity verification solutions. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Mitek develops and licenses patented technology that enables organizations to securely capture, authenticate and process identity documents, checks and other physical media using smartphones and other digital devices. Its platforms leverage advanced image processing, machine learning and biometrics to streamline customer onboarding and prevent fraud in real time.

The company’s core offerings include mobile check deposit and deposit automation tools for financial institutions, as well as identity verification and authentication services for banks, fintechs, insurers and government agencies.