Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares of Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) hit a new 52-week high, trading up to $5.24 (last $5.215) and sitting above its 50‑day ($4.74) and 200‑day ($4.10) moving averages with a market cap around $495M.
• Analysts are mixed but mildly positive: one Buy and one Hold on the stock, Craig Hallum raised its price target to $6.00, and MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Acacia beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.03 versus a -$0.14 consensus and revenue of $50.13M versus $38M expected, while institutional investors now own about 86.69% of the shares.

Shares of Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.24 and last traded at $5.2150, with a volume of 33884 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ACTG shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Acacia Research from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Acacia Research from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on shares of Acacia Research from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $6.00.

Acacia Research Price Performance

The business's fifty day moving average price is $4.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 9.18 and a quick ratio of 8.64. The stock has a market cap of $495.40 million, a P/E ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 0.49.

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The business services provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.17. Acacia Research had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $50.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.00 million.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acacia Research

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACTG. State Street Corp grew its position in Acacia Research by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,145,981 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,766,000 after acquiring an additional 355,916 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Acacia Research by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,758,800 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,318,000 after purchasing an additional 10,504 shares during the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Acacia Research by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,243,413 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,899,000 after purchasing an additional 45,015 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Acacia Research by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 983,261 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 93,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Acacia Research by 7.0% in the third quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 960,355 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,245,000 after buying an additional 62,625 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.69% of the company's stock.

Acacia Research Company Profile

Acacia Research Corporation is a publicly traded patent licensing company based in New York City. The firm specializes in acquiring patented technologies through a network of wholly owned subsidiaries and seeking licensing agreements or settlements with companies that utilize those technologies. Since its founding in 1993, Acacia has built a business model centered on identifying innovative inventions and monetizing them through patent enforcement and strategic partnerships.

The company's activities span a broad range of technology sectors, including life sciences, medical devices, software, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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