NerdWallet, Inc. (NASDAQ:NRDS) Short Interest Up 19.7% in January

NerdWallet, Inc. (NASDAQ:NRDS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,365,416 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the December 31st total of 1,976,823 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 736,410 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 736,410 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Insider Activity at NerdWallet

In other news, insider Samuel Yount sold 15,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.04, for a total value of $255,757.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 358,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,744,180.64. The trade was a 4.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 44,231 shares of company stock worth $669,277 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 46.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NRDS. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of NerdWallet by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in NerdWallet during the third quarter valued at $111,000. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new position in NerdWallet during the third quarter valued at $119,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NerdWallet during the 3rd quarter valued at $119,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NerdWallet in the 2nd quarter worth about $129,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.81% of the company’s stock.

NerdWallet Stock Performance

NRDS opened at $10.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $793.99 million, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.16. NerdWallet has a 52-week low of $7.55 and a 52-week high of $16.24.

NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $215.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.31 million. NerdWallet had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 9.22%.The company’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that NerdWallet will post 0.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NerdWallet declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NerdWallet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on NerdWallet from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research cut NerdWallet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. KeyCorp raised their price target on NerdWallet from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on NerdWallet from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.40.

About NerdWallet

NerdWallet (NASDAQ: NRDS) is a personal finance company that offers independent guidance and comparison tools to help consumers make informed financial decisions. Through its website and mobile application, NerdWallet provides a wide range of content, including articles, calculators and reviews covering credit cards, mortgages, personal loans, banking products, investing, insurance and taxes. The platform aggregates partner offers to enable side-by-side comparisons, while editorially maintaining objectivity to support users in identifying the products that best suit their individual needs.

Founded in 2009 by Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson, NerdWallet is headquartered in San Francisco and serves consumers primarily in the United States, with additional localized offerings in Canada and the United Kingdom.