MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) CFO Erik Mickels Sells 6,000 Shares

Key Points

• CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,000 shares on March 23 at an average $14.70 (≈$88,200), reducing his stake by 7.05% to 79,064 shares after several other March sales, signaling notable insider selling activity.
• MarketWise reported a strong Q4 beat — $0.77 EPS vs. a -$0.22 consensus and $83.39M revenue vs. $70.6M expected — and declared a $0.20 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.80, ~4.9% yield), which helped lift the stock.
• Director Frank Porter Stansberry made large insider purchases (23,103 and 17,270 shares on March 19–20), providing a countervailing signal of management confidence amid the CFO's sales.

MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW - Get Free Report) CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total value of $88,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,162,240.80. The trade was a 7.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Erik Mickels also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 19th, Erik Mickels sold 3,334 shares of MarketWise stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.83, for a total value of $46,109.22.
• On Wednesday, March 18th, Erik Mickels sold 6,666 shares of MarketWise stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.10, for a total value of $93,990.60.
• On Wednesday, March 11th, Erik Mickels sold 6,666 shares of MarketWise stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.73, for a total value of $98,190.18.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, Erik Mickels sold 3,334 shares of MarketWise stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.20, for a total transaction of $50,676.80.

MarketWise Trading Up 11.6%

MKTW stock opened at $16.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.19 and a 200-day moving average of $15.62. MarketWise, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.07 and a 12 month high of $21.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $260.49 million, a P/E ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 0.55.

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

MarketWise Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. MarketWise's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketWise

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKTW. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of MarketWise in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of MarketWise by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,199 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MarketWise during the 2nd quarter worth $226,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of MarketWise during the 3rd quarter worth $191,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in MarketWise by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,899 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 23.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Key Stories Impacting MarketWise

Here are the key news stories impacting MarketWise this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large insider purchases by director Frank Porter Stansberry (23,103 shares on March 19 and 17,270 shares on March 20), signaling management confidence and increasing insider ownership by double-digit percentages; filings disclosed the trades. Insider Buys
• Positive Sentiment: Stonegate Capital Partners initiated coverage on MKTW, noting MarketWise exited FY25 with a stronger operating profile and improving demand/execution—fresh analyst attention can lift investor interest and flows. Analyst Initiation
• Positive Sentiment: Recent Q4 results (reported March 6) showed a meaningful beat: $0.77 EPS vs. consensus negative estimate and revenue above expectations—this fundamental beat supports the rally and helps justify higher near-term valuations. Earnings/Company Data
• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly dividend ($0.20; $0.80 annualized, ~5.5% yield) with a March 31 payment date—the yield and payout ratio make MKTW more attractive to income-focused investors. Dividend Notice
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the March filings are inconsistent across feeds: one report shows short interest rose to ~33,872 shares (~0.3% of shares) as of March 13 (days-to-cover ~2), while other automated entries show zero shares (likely a data glitch). The absolute short position remains small and unlikely to drive a large move by itself.

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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