Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 827,631 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 188% from the previous session’s volume of 287,088 shares.The stock last traded at $6.9630 and had previously closed at $6.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on PRTH shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Priority Technology from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Priority Technology in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Priority Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Priority Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Priority Technology from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.75.

Priority Technology Stock Up 12.3%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.55. The company has a market capitalization of $598.35 million, a PE ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.55.

Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.06. Priority Technology had a net margin of 5.85% and a negative return on equity of 83.50%. The business had revenue of $249.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $242.87 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Priority Technology by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Priority Technology by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Priority Technology by 25.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Priority Technology by 14.4% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 25,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Priority Technology by 3.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 88,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.52% of the company’s stock.

About Priority Technology

Priority Technology Acquisition Corp is a special purpose acquisition company formed to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization or similar business combination with one or more businesses in the technology sector. As a blank-check company, it does not conduct any operations of its own and holds the proceeds from its initial public offering in a trust account pending the identification and completion of a business combination.

The company’s management team is focused on evaluating target businesses that offer scalable technology products or services, including software, digital platforms and related infrastructure.