Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 27.4% to 2,024,211 shares as of Feb. 27, representing 7.3% of the float and a short-interest ratio of 8.6 days based on average daily volume.
• Earnings miss: Priority reported Q results with EPS of $0.27 versus a $0.29 consensus and revenue of $247.13M (slightly below expectations), a negative return on equity of 66.5%, and analysts expect -$0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Hold” with a $8.75 price target (three Buys, two Holds, one Sell), while some firms cut targets or downgraded the stock.

Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,024,211 shares, an increase of 27.4% from the February 12th total of 1,589,215 shares. Currently, 7.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 236,271 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 236,271 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.6 days. Currently, 7.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Priority Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Priority Technology in the second quarter worth $29,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Priority Technology by 57.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,115 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Priority Technology in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Priority Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Priority Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.52% of the company's stock.

Priority Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PRTH traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $4.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 517,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 311,182. The company has a market capitalization of $408.16 million, a PE ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.22. Priority Technology has a 1 year low of $4.44 and a 1 year high of $8.89.

Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $247.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $247.92 million. Priority Technology had a negative return on equity of 66.50% and a net margin of 5.84%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Priority Technology will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PRTH shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Priority Technology in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Priority Technology from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered Priority Technology from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Priority Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Priority Technology from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Priority Technology currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.75.

About Priority Technology

Priority Technology Acquisition Corp is a special purpose acquisition company formed to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization or similar business combination with one or more businesses in the technology sector. As a blank-check company, it does not conduct any operations of its own and holds the proceeds from its initial public offering in a trust account pending the identification and completion of a business combination.

The company’s management team is focused on evaluating target businesses that offer scalable technology products or services, including software, digital platforms and related infrastructure.

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