HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in TechTarget, Inc. $TTGT

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in TechTarget, Inc. by 48.2%, selling 1,254,019 shares and retaining 1,346,785 shares valued at approximately $19.9 million.
• Several institutional investors have been active with TechTarget, including Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. and Royal Bank of Canada, the latter increasing its stake by 30.3%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on TechTarget, with a recent downgrade by JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowering the price target to $8.00 from $18.00, while other firms maintain a more optimistic outlook.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in TechTarget, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTGT - Free Report) by 48.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,346,785 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 1,254,019 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 4.61% of TechTarget worth $19,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in TechTarget by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,768 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of TechTarget in the 1st quarter worth $190,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its holdings in shares of TechTarget by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 12,074 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of TechTarget in the first quarter worth $246,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of TechTarget by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,860 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

TechTarget Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of TechTarget stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 386,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,881. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $430.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.33 and a beta of 0.96. TechTarget, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.55 and a 1-year high of $33.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.68.

TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The information services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $119.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $106.19 million. TechTarget had a negative return on equity of 21.56% and a negative net margin of 252.96%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that TechTarget, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

About TechTarget

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.