Short Interest in Newsmax Inc. (NYSE:NMAX) Grows By 30.5%

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 30.5% to 7,449,756 shares as of March 31, equal to about 14.8% of the stock and a short-interest ratio of 6.9 days based on average daily volume.
• Shares traded at $6.93 (up 1.1%) with a market cap of $894.3M, a 52-week range of $5.11–$27.49, and the company reported negative profitability (PE -5.97, net margin -52.57%).
• The analyst consensus is a Hold with a $21.50 target while Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)", and several institutional investors (including Geode and JPMorgan) recently initiated positions.

Newsmax Inc. (NYSE:NMAX - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,449,756 shares, a growth of 30.5% from the March 15th total of 5,709,250 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,084,609 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days. Approximately 14.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Newsmax in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Newsmax Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE NMAX traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $6.93. 570,787 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 928,378. Newsmax has a 52-week low of $5.11 and a 52-week high of $27.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $894.29 million and a PE ratio of -5.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.06.

Newsmax (NYSE:NMAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $52.24 million for the quarter. Newsmax had a negative net margin of 52.57% and a negative return on equity of 82.25%.

Institutional Trading of Newsmax

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NMAX. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Newsmax during the second quarter valued at $1,425,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Newsmax during the second quarter worth about $249,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Newsmax during the second quarter worth $338,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Newsmax during the 2nd quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Newsmax in the second quarter valued at approximately $334,000.

About Newsmax

Newsmax NYSE: NMAX is a diversified media company that produces and distributes conservative-oriented news, opinion and informational content. The company operates across multiple platforms, including a cable news channel, a digital streaming service, a website, a print magazine and various mobile applications. Newsmax focuses on delivering political coverage, financial analysis and cultural commentary to its audience.

Originally launched as a news website in 1998, Newsmax expanded into print with the debut of Newsmax magazine in 2003 and later launched its flagship cable network, Newsmax TV, in 2014.

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