Freedom (NASDAQ:FRHC) Trading Up 6.1% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Freedom Holding shares rose 6.1% to $168.86 in mid-day trading, with volume 39% above its average.
• Analysts maintain a mixed but generally cautious outlook: one Buy and two Hold ratings produce a consensus “Hold” rating and a $159 price target, below the current share price.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, missing the $0.87 consensus estimate, while insiders sold nearly 19,000 shares worth approximately $2.9 million over the past three months.

Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FRHC - Get Free Report) shares shot up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $169.70 and last traded at $168.86. 179,887 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 39% from the average daily volume of 129,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freedom from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Freedom in a report on Monday, July 20th. KeyCorp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Freedom in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wedbush set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Freedom in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.00.

Freedom Trading Up 6.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.49. The firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.99 and a beta of 0.67.

Freedom (NASDAQ:FRHC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.35). Freedom had a net margin of 6.47% and a return on equity of 10.96%. The firm had revenue of $554.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.14 million.

Insider Transactions at Freedom

In related news, Director Andrew Gamble sold 357 shares of Freedom stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.04, for a total value of $50,351.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,484.08. This trade represents a 34.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Azamat Yerdessov sold 16,800 shares of Freedom stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.48, for a total value of $2,612,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 227,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,362,682.16. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 18,957 shares of company stock worth $2,915,891 in the last three months. Insiders own 69.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freedom

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freedom during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,900,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Freedom in the third quarter worth $31,591,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Freedom by 648.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 121,942 shares of the company's stock worth $16,117,000 after buying an additional 105,641 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Freedom by 214.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 75,018 shares of the company's stock worth $9,915,000 after buying an additional 51,159 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Freedom during the second quarter worth $6,301,000. 1.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Freedom

Freedom Holding Corp NASDAQ: FRHC is a diversified financial services holding company that provides a broad range of brokerage, trading, investment banking, and asset management services. Through its subsidiaries, the company caters to retail, institutional, and corporate clients by offering access to global capital markets, equity and fixed-income trading, and research-driven investment strategies.

The firm's product suite includes online and over-the-counter brokerage platforms, margin lending, securities underwriting, and M&A advisory services.

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