Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Acacia Research Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.24 and last traded at $5.2150, with a volume of 33884 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ACTG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Acacia Research from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Acacia Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Acacia Research from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Acacia Research presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Acacia Research Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $494.54 million, a P/E ratio of 22.26 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 8.64, a current ratio of 9.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.11.

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The business services provider reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $50.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.00 million. Acacia Research had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 4.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Acacia Research in the first quarter worth $35,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Acacia Research by 8.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 177,666 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Acacia Research in the 1st quarter worth about $169,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Acacia Research by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,769,000 after acquiring an additional 29,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Acacia Research by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 114,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113 shares in the last quarter. 86.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Acacia Research

Acacia Research Corporation is a publicly traded patent licensing company based in New York City. The firm specializes in acquiring patented technologies through a network of wholly owned subsidiaries and seeking licensing agreements or settlements with companies that utilize those technologies. Since its founding in 1993, Acacia has built a business model centered on identifying innovative inventions and monetizing them through patent enforcement and strategic partnerships.

The company’s activities span a broad range of technology sectors, including life sciences, medical devices, software, telecommunications and consumer electronics.