Earnest Partners LLC Acquires 200,495 Shares of TechTarget, Inc. $TTGT

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC has increased its stake in TechTarget, Inc. by 41.3%, owning approximately 686,440 shares valued at about $10.17 million.
• Several analysts have downgraded TechTarget's stock rating recently, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. cutting its price target from $18.00 to $8.00, now rated as "underweight."
• TechTarget reported a significant earnings surprise with a quarterly EPS of $0.29, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.17, and had a revenue of $119.94 million for the quarter.

Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of TechTarget, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTGT - Free Report) by 41.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 686,440 shares of the information services provider's stock after buying an additional 200,495 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 2.35% of TechTarget worth $10,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of TechTarget by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 526,387 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $7,796,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of TechTarget by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 301,382 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $4,463,000 after purchasing an additional 48,934 shares during the last quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TechTarget by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 4,526,836 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $67,042,000 after buying an additional 767,327 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TechTarget by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 395,134 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $5,852,000 after buying an additional 102,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of TechTarget during the 1st quarter worth $3,921,000. 93.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on TTGT shares. Lake Street Capital lowered their price target on TechTarget from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Craig Hallum started coverage on TechTarget in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of TechTarget in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of TechTarget from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded TechTarget from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $18.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.40.

TechTarget Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ TTGT traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, hitting $5.63. 212,451 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 390,148. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. TechTarget, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.55 and a 52-week high of $33.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $6.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.02. The company has a market capitalization of $402.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.38 and a beta of 0.93.

TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The information services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.17. TechTarget had a negative net margin of 252.96% and a negative return on equity of 21.56%. The business had revenue of $119.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $106.19 million. Research analysts predict that TechTarget, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TechTarget news, CFO Daniel T. Noreck sold 8,459 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.99, for a total transaction of $50,669.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 71,519 shares of the company's stock, valued at $428,398.81. The trade was a 10.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

TechTarget Profile

TechTarget, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides marketing and sales services that deliver business impact for business-to-business technology companies in North America and internationally. The company's service enables technology vendors to identify, reach, and influence corporate information technology (IT) decision-makers actively researching specific IT purchases; and customized marketing programs that integrate demand generation, brand advertising techniques, and content curation and creation.