Short Interest in Lesaka Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSAK) Rises By 54.3%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 54.3% to 266,261 shares as of March 13, lifting the short-interest ratio to 3.9 days and representing about 0.3% of the company’s stock.
• Insider selling continued: Finance Corp International sold 11,104 shares on March 25, insiders sold 323,011 shares in the last quarter and now own roughly 3.40% of Lesaka.
• Institutional buying but mixed sentiment: institutions own about 24.19% after sizable stakes added by Potomac, Rathbones and Barclays, while analysts’ consensus remains a "Reduce" rating despite an EPS beat and a revenue miss.

Lesaka Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSAK - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 266,261 shares, an increase of 54.3% from the February 26th total of 172,560 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 68,725 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lesaka Technologies

In other news, major shareholder Finance Corp International sold 11,104 shares of Lesaka Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.04, for a total transaction of $55,964.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,761,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,035,717.20. The trade was a 0.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 323,011 shares of company stock valued at $1,605,227. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lesaka Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LSAK. Potomac Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lesaka Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $4,766,000. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Lesaka Technologies by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 3,644,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,384,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Lesaka Technologies by 13,359.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 141,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 140,812 shares during the period. 9823 Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Lesaka Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new position in Lesaka Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LSAK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lesaka Technologies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research raised Lesaka Technologies from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Lesaka Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lesaka Technologies currently has an average rating of "Reduce".

Lesaka Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Lesaka Technologies stock opened at $4.90 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.40. Lesaka Technologies has a 12-month low of $3.39 and a 12-month high of $5.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $411.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Lesaka Technologies (NASDAQ:LSAK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.04. Lesaka Technologies had a negative net margin of 7.87% and a negative return on equity of 28.23%. The firm had revenue of $93.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.00 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lesaka Technologies will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lesaka Technologies Company Profile

Lesaka Technologies, Inc operates as a Fintech company that utilizes its proprietary banking and payment technologies to deliver financial services solutions to merchants (B2B) and consumers (B2C) in Southern Africa. It offers cash management solutions, growth capital, card acquiring, bill payment technologies, and value-added services to formal and informal retail merchants, as well as banking, lending, and insurance solutions to consumers across Southern Africa. The company also engages in the sale of POS devices, SIM cards, and other consumables; and license of rights to use certain technology developed by the company, as well as offers related technology services.

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.