BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Holdings in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT - Free Report) by 155.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,587 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 38,675 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.21% of Liquidity Services worth $2,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Liquidity Services by 651.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 798,688 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,790,000 after purchasing an additional 692,390 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Liquidity Services by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 457,351 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,768,000 after purchasing an additional 167,767 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in Liquidity Services by 561.2% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 141,649 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,574,000 after purchasing an additional 120,226 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Liquidity Services in the 4th quarter valued at $3,477,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Liquidity Services in the 4th quarter valued at $2,969,000. 71.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LQDT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Liquidity Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Liquidity Services Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of LQDT stock traded down $1.26 on Friday, hitting $23.76. 240,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 229,503. The firm has a market capitalization of $741.81 million, a PE ratio of 31.68 and a beta of 1.31. Liquidity Services, Inc. has a one year low of $18.87 and a one year high of $39.72. The firm's 50 day moving average is $29.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.56.

Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $116.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.20 million. Liquidity Services had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 6.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liquidity Services news, insider Novelette Murray sold 7,938 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.96, for a total value of $269,574.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,228,706.76. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jaime Mateus-Tique sold 29,169 shares of Liquidity Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.06, for a total value of $847,651.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 230,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,695,220.58. This trade represents a 11.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,038 shares of company stock worth $3,492,975 in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Liquidity Services

Liquidity Services, Inc provides e-commerce marketplaces, self-directed auction listing tools, and value-added services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: GovDeals, Retail Supply Chain Group (RSCG), Capital Assets Group (CAG), and Machinio. Its marketplaces include liquidation.com that enable corporations to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and retail capital assets; GovDeals marketplace, which provides self-directed service solutions in which sellers list their own assets that enables local and state government entities, and commercial businesses located in the United States and Canada to sell surplus and salvage assets; and AllSurplus, a centralized marketplace that connects global buyer base with assets from across the network of marketplaces in a single destination.