MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell sharply—down 24.7% to 25,509 shares as of March 31 (about 0.2% of shares short) with a days-to-cover ratio of 0.6 days.
• MarketWise posted a strong quarter, reporting $0.77 EPS (vs. a consensus loss of $0.22) and $83.39M in revenue (vs. $70.6M expected), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 (annualized yield ~4.9%).
• Insider activity was mixed: CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,000 shares while director Frank Porter Stansberry bought 17,270 shares; company insiders now own 29.25% of the stock.

MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 25,509 shares, a decrease of 24.7% from the March 15th total of 33,872 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 39,674 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of MarketWise in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

Insider Activity at MarketWise

In other news, CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total transaction of $88,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,064 shares in the company, valued at $1,162,240.80. This represents a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frank Porter Stansberry purchased 17,270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.19 per share, with a total value of $262,331.30. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 250,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,803,287.39. The trade was a 7.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock valued at $377,167 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 29.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MarketWise in the third quarter valued at $359,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of MarketWise by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 152,631 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock valued at $2,293,000 after buying an additional 9,961 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MarketWise by 13.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,627 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock valued at $1,382,000 after buying an additional 10,113 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of MarketWise by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,737 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 1,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of MarketWise by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,899 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.04% of the company's stock.

MarketWise Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKTW traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $16.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 64,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,870. The business's 50-day moving average is $15.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.71. The company has a market capitalization of $263.71 million, a PE ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 0.34. MarketWise has a 52-week low of $12.19 and a 52-week high of $21.74.

MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 6th. The newsletter publisher reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.99. MarketWise had a negative return on equity of 2.54% and a net margin of 1.71%.The firm had revenue of $83.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.60 million.

MarketWise Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. MarketWise's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.67%.

About MarketWise

MarketWise, Inc operates a content and technology multi-brand platform for self-directed investors in the United States and Internationally. Its platform includes subscription businesses that provides financial research, software, education, and tools to navigate the financial markets. The company offers various investment strategies, such as value investing, income, growth, commodities, cryptocurrencies, venture, crowdfunded investing, biotechnology, mutual funds, options, and trading; investment research product portfolio through a range of media, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile; and financial newsletters.

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