Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,750,000 shares, a growth of 21.8% from the August 31st total of 3,080,000 shares. Currently, 13.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IMMR has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Immersion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BWS Financial boosted their price target on Immersion from $11.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th.

Immersion Stock Performance

Shares of IMMR stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.92. 458,984 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,115. Immersion has a 52 week low of $5.94 and a 52 week high of $13.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.15 million, a P/E ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 1.48.

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 19th. The software maker reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $99.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 million. Immersion had a return on equity of 27.05% and a net margin of 40.62%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Immersion will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Immersion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Immersion’s payout ratio is presently 13.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Immersion news, CEO Eric Singer purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.77 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,912,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,775,843.59. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Immersion news, insider William C. Martin bought 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.81 per share, for a total transaction of $132,150.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,364,265 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,174.65. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Eric Singer acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.77 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,912,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,775,843.59. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 66,155 shares of company stock valued at $580,675. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Immersion

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Immersion in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,375,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Immersion during the first quarter worth $1,285,000. ClariVest Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Immersion during the second quarter valued at about $1,571,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Immersion by 43.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 498,213 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $4,688,000 after purchasing an additional 150,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Immersion by 151.3% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 209,675 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 126,247 shares during the period. 60.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Immersion Company Profile

Immersion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, design, development, and licensing of haptic technologies that allow people to use their sense of touch to engage with and experience various digital products in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides technology, patent, and combined licenses.