Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,520,000 shares, a decrease of 15.2% from the May 31st total of 4,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 977,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 5.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Playtika Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Playtika stock opened at $7.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.74. Playtika has a 12-month low of $6.25 and a 12-month high of $12.90.

Playtika (NASDAQ:PLTK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15. The business had revenue of $651.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $642.38 million. Playtika had a net margin of 7.96% and a negative return on equity of 94.21%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Playtika will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Playtika Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 21st. Playtika’s payout ratio is presently 72.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PLTK. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Playtika from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Playtika from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Macquarie downgraded shares of Playtika from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Playtika in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $8.50 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.06.

Insider Transactions at Playtika

In other news, insider Gili Brudno sold 67,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.72, for a total transaction of $586,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 201,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,759,260. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Playtika

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS Group AG increased its position in Playtika by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 289,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 134,195 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Playtika by 185.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,416,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,593 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its stake in Playtika by 362.8% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 225,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 176,913 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Playtika in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Playtika by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 7,500,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,401,000 after buying an additional 2,896,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.94% of the company’s stock.

About Playtika

Playtika Holding Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops mobile games in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia pacific, and internationally. The company owns a portfolio of casual and social casino-themed games. It distributes its games to the end customer through various web and mobile platforms and direct-to-consumer platforms.