Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,425,543 shares, a decrease of 22.9% from the February 26th total of 1,849,789 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 600,688 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Acacia Research in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. bought a new stake in Acacia Research during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Acacia Research during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sather Financial Group Inc acquired a new position in shares of Acacia Research during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of Acacia Research during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Acacia Research Stock Down 3.6%

NASDAQ:ACTG opened at $4.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.82. Acacia Research has a 52-week low of $2.70 and a 52-week high of $5.21. The company has a market cap of $466.94 million, a PE ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 8.64 and a current ratio of 9.18.

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The business services provider reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $50.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.00 million. Acacia Research had a return on equity of 4.11% and a net margin of 7.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acacia Research from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on Acacia Research from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Acacia Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. 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.com, Acacia Research presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.00.

About Acacia Research

Acacia Research Corporation is a publicly traded patent licensing company based in New York City. The firm specializes in acquiring patented technologies through a network of wholly owned subsidiaries and seeking licensing agreements or settlements with companies that utilize those technologies. Since its founding in 1993, Acacia has built a business model centered on identifying innovative inventions and monetizing them through patent enforcement and strategic partnerships.

The company’s activities span a broad range of technology sectors, including life sciences, medical devices, software, telecommunications and consumer electronics.