Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Integral Ad Science (NASDAQ:IAS) Stock Price

Integral Ad Science (NASDAQ:IAS) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $13.50 to $12.50 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 95.62% from the company’s current price.

IAS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank began coverage on Integral Ad Science in a research note on Friday, February 28th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Integral Ad Science from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Integral Ad Science in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price target (down previously from $16.00) on shares of Integral Ad Science in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Integral Ad Science in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.35.

Integral Ad Science Price Performance

NASDAQ:IAS traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $6.39. 192,670 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,125,026. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 3.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.53. Integral Ad Science has a 1-year low of $6.31 and a 1-year high of $13.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.02 and its 200-day moving average is $10.15.

Integral Ad Science (NASDAQ:IAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.03). Integral Ad Science had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 3.47%. The firm had revenue of $153.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Integral Ad Science will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Integral Ad Science news, CEO Lisa Utzschneider sold 68,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.44, for a total value of $510,912.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 334,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,485,339.44. This represents a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 90,303 shares of company stock valued at $706,660 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Integral Ad Science

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inflection Point Investments LLP bought a new stake in shares of Integral Ad Science in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,265,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Integral Ad Science by 547.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Integral Ad Science by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 74,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 6,564 shares during the last quarter. Repertoire Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Integral Ad Science by 83.7% in the 4th quarter. Repertoire Partners LP now owns 284,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 129,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Integral Ad Science by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 155,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,618,000 after buying an additional 46,395 shares during the last quarter. 95.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Integral Ad Science

Integral Ad Science Holding Corp. operates as a digital advertising verification company in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Australia, Japan, India, and the Nordics. The company provides IAS Signal, a cloud-based technology platform that offers return on ad spend needs; and deliver independent measurement and verification of digital advertising across devices, channels, and formats, including desktop, mobile, connected TV, social, display, and video.