D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys 42,229 Shares of Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) by 322.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,229 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.18% of Liquidity Services worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Access Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Liquidity Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 82,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Liquidity Services by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in Liquidity Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 37,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in Liquidity Services by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 52,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Liquidity Services by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 35,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. 71.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on LQDT. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Liquidity Services in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com cut Liquidity Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liquidity Services news, insider Novelette Murray sold 7,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.96, for a total value of $269,574.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,228,706.76. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.93, for a total value of $1,117,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 298,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,523,505.66. This represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,038 shares of company stock valued at $3,492,975 over the last 90 days. 28.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Liquidity Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LQDT opened at $24.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $778.65 million, a P/E ratio of 33.25 and a beta of 1.31. Liquidity Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.78 and a 1 year high of $39.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.53.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The business had revenue of $116.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.20 million. Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 6.37%.

Liquidity Services 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.