Meridian (NASDAQ:MRDN) Stock Price Up 4.9% – Time to Buy?

Meridian Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MRDN) rose 4.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $14.98 and last traded at $14.72. Approximately 79,557 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 19% from the average session volume of 66,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRDN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Meridian to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Meridian in a report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

Meridian Trading Down 1.8%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.88 and a beta of 0.63.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRDN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $50.10 million during the quarter. Meridian had a negative return on equity of 99.65% and a negative net margin of 45.94%. As a group, research analysts expect that Meridian Holdings Inc. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meridian

In other Meridian news, CEO Anthony Brian Goodman sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.73, for a total value of $75,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 429,313 shares in the company, valued at $5,894,467.49. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 93,949 shares of company stock worth $1,024,405. Corporate insiders own 9.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meridian

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whetstone Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meridian in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meridian by 1,603.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 206,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 193,982 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Meridian by 115.2% in the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 148,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 79,382 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Meridian by 224.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 94,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 65,501 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meridian by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 131,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 53,703 shares in the last quarter. 2.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meridian Company Profile

Meridian Holdings Inc is engaged in the online gaming and betting business, providing sports betting, online casino, and gaming operations across multiple jurisdictions in Europe, Africa, and Central and South America. The company has three reportable segments: MeridianBet Group, GMAG, and RKings & CFAC. The MeridianBet Group segment includes retail and online sports betting, casinos, and related gaming operations. The GMAG segment focuses on the resale of third-party gaming content, mainly serving customers in the Asia-Pacific region.