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

Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,425,543 shares, a decline of 22.9% from the February 26th total of 1,849,789 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 600,688 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ACTG. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Acacia Research from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Acacia Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Acacia Research from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Acacia Research presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acacia Research

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

Acacia Research Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACTG opened at $4.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 9.18, a quick ratio of 8.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Acacia Research has a 1-year low of $2.70 and a 1-year high of $5.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.94 million, a P/E ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.82.

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

Acacia Research Company Profile

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.