MBIA (NYSE:MBI) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

MBIA (NYSE:MBI) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised MBIA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $6.50 to $9.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

MBIA Price Performance

MBIA stock opened at $6.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $312.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.54 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.08 and a 200-day moving average of $4.79. MBIA has a one year low of $3.22 and a one year high of $7.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MBIA news, Director Theodore Shasta sold 11,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.13, for a total value of $69,029.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 71,364 shares in the company, valued at $437,461.32. This represents a 13.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard C. Vaughan sold 9,000 shares of MBIA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.59, for a total value of $59,310.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 65,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $432,534.65. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,831 shares of company stock valued at $192,842. 12.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MBIA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of MBIA by 279.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 58,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 42,998 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MBIA by 76.3% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 460,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 199,500 shares during the period. K2 Principal Fund L.P. acquired a new stake in MBIA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $173,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in MBIA by 70.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 78,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 32,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MBIA by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 844,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. 60.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About MBIA

MBIA Inc provides financial guarantee insurance services to public finance markets in the United States. It operates United States (U.S.) Public Finance Insurance, and International and Structured Finance Insurance segments. The company issues financial guarantees for municipal bonds, including tax-exempt and taxable indebtedness of the U.S.