Digimarc (NASDAQ:DMRC) Upgraded by Needham & Company LLC to Buy

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Digimarc (NASDAQ:DMRC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has $40.00 price objective on the information technology services provider’s stock.

Separately, Craig Hallum lowered their target price on Digimarc from $35.00 to $28.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

Digimarc Trading Up 10.1 %

Shares of Digimarc stock opened at $28.88 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $617.17 million, a PE ratio of -13.88 and a beta of 1.62. Digimarc has a 12 month low of $21.00 and a 12 month high of $43.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.67.

Digimarc (NASDAQ:DMRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The information technology services provider reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $9.94 million for the quarter. Digimarc had a negative return on equity of 46.01% and a negative net margin of 114.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tony Rodriguez sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total value of $53,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,279.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Tony Rodriguez sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.91, for a total value of $53,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 41,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,279.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Alicia Syrett sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.48, for a total transaction of $38,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $527,104.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,846 shares of company stock worth $289,707. Corporate insiders own 19.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Digimarc

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DMRC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Digimarc by 1,834.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 547,966 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $19,793,000 after acquiring an additional 519,643 shares during the last quarter. Silverberg Bernstein Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Digimarc during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,531,000. Beaconlight Capital LLC lifted its position in Digimarc by 34.7% during the first quarter. Beaconlight Capital LLC now owns 778,017 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $21,147,000 after acquiring an additional 200,251 shares during the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Digimarc during the first quarter worth approximately $2,718,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank acquired a new stake in Digimarc during the third quarter worth approximately $1,017,000. 66.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Digimarc

Digimarc Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automatic identification solutions to commercial and government customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers Digimarc Validate protects, a cloud-based record of product authentication information; Digimarc Engage, an interactive communications channel connecting brands and consumers; and Digimarc Recycle.