PLBY Group (NASDAQ:PLBY) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded PLBY Group from a “strong sell” to a “hold”, though the stock still carries an overall average analyst rating of “Reduce”.
• PLBY Group shares were down 5.1% and opened at $1.11, near their 12-month low of $1.09. The company also has a negative earnings profile and a relatively high debt-to-equity ratio of 4.59.
• The company’s latest earnings missed expectations, posting EPS of -$0.03 versus a forecast of $0.01. Revenue came in slightly below estimates as well, at $30.24 million versus $30.71 million expected.

PLBY Group (NASDAQ:PLBY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of PLBY Group in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce".

PLBY Group Stock Down 5.1%

PLBY stock opened at $1.11 on Tuesday. PLBY Group has a twelve month low of $1.09 and a twelve month high of $2.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.59. The company has a market cap of $128.72 million, a PE ratio of -13.88 and a beta of 1.86. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $1.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.64.

PLBY Group (NASDAQ:PLBY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.04). PLBY Group had a negative net margin of 6.21% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. The firm had revenue of $30.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.71 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that PLBY Group will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Special Opportuniti Drawbridge sold 1,904,762 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.05, for a total value of $2,000,000.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 177,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,205.95. This represents a 91.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bernhard L. Kohn III sold 109,342 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.14, for a total value of $124,649.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,594,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,377,798.40. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 3,103,064 shares of company stock worth $3,674,690 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 34.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PLBY Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crcm LP raised its stake in PLBY Group by 154.2% during the fourth quarter. Crcm LP now owns 3,689,452 shares of the company's stock worth $6,936,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238,296 shares in the last quarter. Bbfit Investments PTE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PLBY Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,297,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PLBY Group in the 4th quarter valued at $94,000. Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in shares of PLBY Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 450,000 shares of the company's stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of PLBY Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.46% of the company's stock.

PLBY Group Company Profile

PLBY Group, Inc is a global media and lifestyle company best known for its iconic Playboy brand. The company operates across multiple business segments, including consumer products, licensing, subscription commerce, sexual wellness and digital offerings. Through its diversified portfolio, PLBY Group brings its signature aesthetic and brand heritage to categories such as apparel, accessories, gaming, beverages, home goods and intimate lifestyle products.

In the consumer products segment, PLBY Group designs and markets a range of branded goods under licensing agreements with major retailers and distributors worldwide.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.