LM Funding America, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMFA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

LM Funding America, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMFA) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,161,168 shares, an increase of 202.6% from the June 15th total of 383,718 shares. Approximately 7.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,863,216 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at LM Funding America

In other news, CFO Richard D. Russell purchased 5,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.50 per share, for a total transaction of $28,952.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,707.50. This represents a 116.95% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 15.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of LM Funding America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in LM Funding America by 782.6% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 124,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 110,297 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in LM Funding America during the third quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of LM Funding America in the third quarter worth approximately $139,000. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of LM Funding America by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 527,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 152,171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 22.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of LM Funding America in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.00.

LM Funding America Stock Performance

Shares of LM Funding America stock traded down $0.41 on Monday, hitting $2.89. 113,927 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,165. LM Funding America has a 1 year low of $2.82 and a 1 year high of $128.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.18 million, a PE ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 2.40.

LM Funding America (NASDAQ:LMFA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The financial services provider reported ($11.75) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($7.75) by ($4.00). LM Funding America had a negative return on equity of 102.63% and a negative net margin of 368.68%.The company had revenue of $2.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.00 million.

About LM Funding America

LM Funding America, Inc, headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a specialty finance company that provides retail installment contracts to subprime borrowers. The company originates, acquires, and manages motor vehicle retail financing through a network of franchised and independent automobile dealerships across the United States. LM Funding America holds and services its loan portfolio through its wholly owned subsidiary, LM Funding America Service Corp., and offers floorplan financing to new and used vehicle dealers through LM Funding Floorplan LLC.

Established in 2013, LM Funding America completed its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 2015, enabling the company to expand its lending operations and geographic presence.