Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Atlanticus Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:ATLC) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $75.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. 15,479 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the previous session’s volume of 18,587 shares.The stock last traded at $61.00 and had previously closed at $59.15.

ATLC has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atlanticus from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Atlanticus from $45.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Atlanticus from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Atlanticus in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Denise M. Harrod sold 1,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.00, for a total value of $55,909.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,291. This represents a 16.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Deal W. Hudson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.35, for a total value of $78,375.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 64,955 shares in the company, valued at $2,036,339.25. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,004 shares of company stock worth $1,040,897. 51.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlanticus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Atlanticus by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 258,689 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Atlanticus by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Atlanticus by 393.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.15% of the company’s stock.

Atlanticus Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $944.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 2.05.

Atlanticus (NASDAQ:ATLC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $351.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.64 million. Atlanticus had a return on equity of 25.14% and a net margin of 8.39%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atlanticus Holdings Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

About Atlanticus

Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, a financial technology company, provides credit and related financial services and products to customers the United States. It operates in two segments, Credit as a Service, and Auto Finance. The Credit as a Service segment originates a range of consumer loan products, such as private label and general purpose credit cards originated by lenders through various channels, including retail and healthcare, direct mail solicitation, digital marketing, and partnerships with third parties; and offers credit to their customers for the purchase of various goods and services, including consumer electronics, furniture, elective medical procedures, healthcare, and home-improvements by partnering with retailers, healthcare providers, and other service providers.