Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares crossed above its 200‑day moving average, trading as high as $5.03 versus the 200‑day MA of $3.89 and last at $5.02 on volume of about 139,700 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but tilted positive: Craig Hallum raised its target to $6.00 with a Buy, Weiss upgraded to Hold while Wall Street Zen cut to Hold, leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a $6.00 target.
• Acacia recently beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.03 (vs. -$0.14 est.) and revenue of $50.13M (vs. $38.0M est.), and shows strong liquidity (current ratio 9.18, quick ratio 8.64), low debt, and ~86.7% institutional ownership.

Shares of Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.89 and traded as high as $5.03. Acacia Research shares last traded at $5.02, with a volume of 139,699 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Acacia Research Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.40 and a 200-day moving average of $3.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.30 million, a P/E ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 9.18, a quick ratio of 8.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $50.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.00 million. Acacia Research had a return on equity of 4.11% and a net margin of 7.60%.

Institutional Trading of Acacia Research

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACTG. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its position in shares of Acacia Research by 195.0% during the 3rd quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 889,547 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,891,000 after acquiring an additional 587,973 shares during the period. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Acacia Research during the 3rd quarter worth $1,317,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 355,916 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Acacia Research by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 441,886 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,653,000 after buying an additional 174,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Acacia Research during the 2nd quarter worth $614,000. 86.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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