MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

MarketWise Trading Up 0.2%

MKTW stock opened at $17.03 on Friday. MarketWise has a 1-year low of $12.65 and a 1-year high of $21.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.83 and its 200-day moving average is $15.72. The firm has a market cap of $273.50 million, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 0.34.

MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 6th. The newsletter publisher reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.99. MarketWise had a negative return on equity of 2.54% and a net margin of 1.71%.The business had revenue of $83.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.60 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that MarketWise will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

MarketWise Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were paid 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%.

Insider Activity at MarketWise

In other MarketWise news, Director Frank Porter Stansberry acquired 23,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.28 per share, for a total transaction of $329,910.84. Following the transaction, the director owned 233,111 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,825.08. This trade represents a 11.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,666 shares of MarketWise stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.10, for a total value of $93,990.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,246,411.80. The trade was a 7.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 26,000 shares of company stock worth $377,167 over the last three months. 29.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MarketWise

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKTW. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketWise by 300.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 121,661 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 91,282 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in MarketWise in the 3rd quarter valued at about $359,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new stake in MarketWise in the 3rd quarter valued at about $191,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of MarketWise in the second quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MarketWise by 13.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,627 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 10,113 shares during the last quarter. 23.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.