Short Interest in MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW) Drops By 24.7%

MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 25,509 shares, a decline of 24.7% from the March 15th total of 33,872 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 39,674 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MarketWise in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MarketWise has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total value of $88,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,162,240.80. The trade was a 7.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank Porter Stansberry purchased 17,270 shares of MarketWise stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.19 per share, with a total value of $262,331.30. Following the acquisition, the director owned 250,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,803,287.39. This represents a 7.41% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,000 shares of company stock valued at $377,167. Company insiders own 29.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MarketWise

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in MarketWise by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,199 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in MarketWise by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in MarketWise by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,899 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in MarketWise by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,737 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in MarketWise by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 152,631 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $2,293,000 after buying an additional 9,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.04% of the company’s stock.

MarketWise Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MKTW traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $16.78. 18,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,312. MarketWise has a 12 month low of $12.65 and a 12 month high of $21.74. The company has a market cap of $269.49 million, a PE ratio of 7.33 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.72.

MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 6th. The newsletter publisher reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.99. MarketWise had a net margin of 1.71% and a negative return on equity of 2.54%. The business had revenue of $83.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 million.

MarketWise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. MarketWise’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.67%.

About MarketWise

MarketWise, Inc operates a content and technology multi-brand platform for self-directed investors in the United States and Internationally. Its platform includes subscription businesses that provides financial research, software, education, and tools to navigate the financial markets. The company offers various investment strategies, such as value investing, income, growth, commodities, cryptocurrencies, venture, crowdfunded investing, biotechnology, mutual funds, options, and trading; investment research product portfolio through a range of media, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile; and financial newsletters.