MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) from a "hold" to a "buy" while Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)," leaving the consensus rating at "Hold" with an average target price of $20.00.
• Quarterly results beat expectations: MarketWise reported EPS of $0.77 (vs. -$0.22 expected) and revenue of $83.39M (vs. $70.6M expected), and the stock was trading up about 4% with a market cap of ~$281M and a P/E of 7.64.
• Notable insider activity: Director Frank Porter Stansberry bought 23,103 shares at about $14.28 while CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,666 shares, and insiders now own roughly 29.25% of the company.

MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of MarketWise in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

MarketWise Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of MarketWise stock opened at $17.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.25. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $16.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.84. MarketWise has a 1-year low of $13.01 and a 1-year high of $21.74.

MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 6th. The newsletter publisher reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.99. The company had revenue of $83.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.60 million. MarketWise had a net margin of 1.71% and a negative return on equity of 2.54%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MarketWise will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MarketWise news, CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,666 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.10, for a total transaction of $93,990.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,411.80. This represents a 7.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank Porter Stansberry bought 23,103 shares of MarketWise stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.28 per share, for a total transaction of $329,910.84. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 233,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,825.08. The trade was a 11.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,000 shares of company stock worth $377,167 over the last quarter. 29.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketWise

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKTW. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in MarketWise by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of MarketWise by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 152,631 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock worth $2,293,000 after purchasing an additional 9,961 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of MarketWise by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,737 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of MarketWise by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,199 shares of the newsletter publisher's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 23.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MarketWise Company Profile

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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