Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ:PERI) Stock Position Cut by Sphera Funds Management LTD.

Sphera Funds Management LTD. lessened its stake in Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ:PERI) by 56.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 102,612 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 131,997 shares during the quarter. Sphera Funds Management LTD.’s holdings in Perion Network were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in Perion Network in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Perion Network in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Perritt Capital Management Inc bought a new position in Perion Network in the 4th quarter valued at about $127,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Perion Network by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 26,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 9,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in Perion Network by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,707 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.12% of the company’s stock.

Perion Network Trading Down 5.0%

PERI stock opened at $10.81 on Friday. Perion Network Ltd. has a one year low of $7.00 and a one year high of $12.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.56 million, a PE ratio of 41.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.72.

Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The technology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.15). Perion Network had a net margin of 2.53% and a return on equity of 5.55%. The firm had revenue of $129.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.44 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Perion Network Ltd. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Perion Network from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Perion Network from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Roth Capital set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Perion Network in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Perion Network in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Perion Network from $10.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.13.

About Perion Network

Perion Network Ltd. provides digital advertising solutions to brands, agencies, and publishers in North America, Europe, and internationally. It offers Wildfire, a content monetization platform; search monetization solutions, including website monetization, search mediation, and app monetization; and cross-channel digital advertising software as a service platform.