Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Priority Technology’s trading volume surged 192% to approximately 1.63 million shares, while the stock was essentially unchanged at $7.785.
• Analyst sentiment is largely cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold” from eight analysts, with an average price target of $8.59. Recent firms have generally lowered ratings or price targets, although Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $8.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.29 versus $0.26 expected and revenue of $262.26 million versus $257.81 million expected. Institutional investors own 11.52% of the stock, with BlackRock recently initiating a sizable position.

Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday. Approximately 1,628,380 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 192% from the previous session's volume of 557,562 shares. The stock last traded at $7.7850 and had previously closed at $7.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PRTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Priority Technology from $6.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Lake Street Capital lowered shares of Priority Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $8.05 in a report on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Priority Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Zacks Research cut Priority Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Priority Technology in a report on Monday, September 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.59.

Priority Technology Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $641.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 1.58. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $6.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.03.

Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. Priority Technology had a net margin of 5.61% and a negative return on equity of 104.91%. The business had revenue of $262.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $257.81 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Priority Technology

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Priority Technology during the second quarter valued at $15,788,000. FourWorld Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Priority Technology by 330.0% in the first quarter. FourWorld Capital Management LLC now owns 1,583,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215,583 shares during the period. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Priority Technology by 4.6% during the second quarter. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,335,669 shares of the company's stock worth $8,909,000 after purchasing an additional 58,273 shares during the last quarter. Norwood Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Priority Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $3,433,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Priority Technology by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 437,139 shares of the company's stock worth $2,063,000 after buying an additional 40,282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.52% of the company's stock.

Priority Technology Company Profile

Priority Technology Holdings, Inc is a payments technology company that provides payment processing and merchant services to businesses, financial institutions and software providers. Its platform supports card, digital and alternative payment acceptance, transaction processing, merchant onboarding, reporting and related payment operations.

The company serves small and midsize businesses, enterprise merchants and software platforms through integrated and embedded payment solutions. Its offerings are designed to help organizations incorporate payments into business-management software and workflows, while also providing tools such as billing, invoicing, data reporting, risk management and access to business financing solutions.

Priority Technology was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.

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