Acacia Research Co. (NASDAQ:ACTG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Acacia Research Co. (NASDAQ:ACTG) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 910,600 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the August 31st total of 786,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 318,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Acacia Research

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corsair Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Acacia Research during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Acacia Research by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,247,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,980,000 after purchasing an additional 13,692 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Acacia Research by 146.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 16,735 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acacia Research in the second quarter worth $354,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Acacia Research by 5.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 3,018 shares during the period. 86.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Acacia Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Acacia Research Stock Down 0.6 %

ACTG opened at $4.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.84 and a 200 day moving average of $5.06. The company has a current ratio of 11.17, a quick ratio of 10.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Acacia Research has a 12 month low of $3.43 and a 12 month high of $5.74. The company has a market cap of $473.10 million, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.52.

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The business services provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $25.84 million during the quarter. Acacia Research had a net margin of 44.42% and a return on equity of 12.00%.

Acacia Research Company Profile

Acacia is a publicly traded (Nasdaq: ACTG) company that is focused on acquiring and operating businesses across the industrial, energy and technology sectors where it believes it can leverage its expertise, significant capital base, and deep industry relationships to drive value. Acacia evaluates opportunities based on the attractiveness of the underlying cash flows, without regard to a specific investment horizon.