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

MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 25,509 shares, a drop 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 currently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.19 per share, with a total value of $262,331.30. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 250,381 shares in the company, valued at $3,803,287.39. This represents a 7.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock valued at $377,167 in the last quarter. 29.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketWise

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MarketWise in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $359,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of MarketWise by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,199 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketWise by 300.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 121,661 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 91,282 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of MarketWise in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $191,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketWise by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 152,631 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $2,293,000 after purchasing an additional 9,961 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.04% of the company’s stock.

MarketWise Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTW traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $17.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,722. MarketWise has a 52-week low of $12.65 and a 52-week high of $21.74. The company has a market cap of $273.02 million, a P/E ratio of 7.42 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.73.

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

MarketWise Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. MarketWise’s payout ratio is 43.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MarketWise in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

MarketWise Company Profile

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.