Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH) Short Interest Up 28.0% in March

Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,237,520 shares, a growth of 28.0% from the March 15th total of 1,748,485 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 264,733 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.5 days. Approximately 8.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Priority Technology Stock Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:PRTH opened at $5.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $423.79 million, a P/E ratio of 7.46 and a beta of 1.51. Priority Technology has a 52 week low of $4.44 and a 52 week high of $8.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.75.

Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $247.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $247.92 million. Priority Technology had a net margin of 5.84% and a negative return on equity of 66.50%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Priority Technology will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities reduced their target price on Priority Technology from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Priority Technology from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Priority Technology in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Priority Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Priority Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Priority Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Priority Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Priority Technology by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Priority Technology by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 47,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Priority Technology by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Priority Technology by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Priority Technology by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 25,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.52% of the company’s stock.

About Priority Technology

Priority Technology Acquisition Corp is a special purpose acquisition company formed to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization or similar business combination with one or more businesses in the technology sector. As a blank-check company, it does not conduct any operations of its own and holds the proceeds from its initial public offering in a trust account pending the identification and completion of a business combination.

The company’s management team is focused on evaluating target businesses that offer scalable technology products or services, including software, digital platforms and related infrastructure.