Short Interest in PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) Rises By 61.6%

PRA Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAA) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,266,499 shares, a growth of 61.6% from the January 29th total of 783,952 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 642,409 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 642,409 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Key PRA Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting PRA Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results materially beat estimates — EPS $1.46 vs. consensus ~$0.50 and revenue $333.4M vs. ~$288.9M; cash collections rose ~13.6% and portfolio income improved, giving near‑term earnings and cashflow credibility. PRA Group Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Portfolio Income
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted record cash collections and a strategic push on IT (automation/analytics) and selective buying that could boost margin and future collections conversion if execution holds. PRA Group Inc (PRAA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary views the quarter as a constructive step but emphasizes this is an early stage of recovery; slide deck and call materials provide more detail for modeling assumptions. MarketBeat Q4 materials and call
• Negative Sentiment: PRAA still lags peer Encore Capital on portfolio yields and collections efficiency — analysts warn sustained stock upside requires improved acquisition execution, better collections yields and margin recovery. PRA Group: A Better Quarter Is Welcome, But A Lot Of Work Remains
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~61.6% in February (to ~1.27M shares, ~3.3% of float), a potential source of selling pressure or volatility if execution doubts persist. (Short-interest data reflected mid‑Feb positions.)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRAA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered PRA Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of PRA Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of PRA Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of PRA Group from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of PRA Group from $33.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Topline Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PRA Group by 168.3% during the second quarter. Topline Capital Management LLC now owns 2,250,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,197,000 after buying an additional 1,411,707 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in PRA Group by 242.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 464,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,214,000 after acquiring an additional 328,804 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in PRA Group by 256.7% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 397,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,027,000 after purchasing an additional 285,858 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in PRA Group by 130.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 428,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,315,000 after purchasing an additional 242,721 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in PRA Group by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 346,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,128,000 after purchasing an additional 161,407 shares during the period. 97.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PRA Group Stock Performance

Shares of PRAA stock traded up $3.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.75. 2,627,028 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 580,203. PRA Group has a 52 week low of $10.25 and a 52 week high of $22.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $614.41 million, a P/E ratio of -2.02 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.40.

PRA Group (NASDAQ:PRAA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.96. PRA Group had a negative net margin of 25.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.11%. The firm had revenue of $333.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.86 million. Analysts expect that PRA Group will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

About PRA Group

PRA Group, Inc is a global specialty finance company focused on the acquisition and management of nonperforming loans. Founded in 1996 as Portfolio Recovery Associates, the company purchases defaulted consumer and commercial receivables at discounted rates from financial institutions, utilities and other creditors. By combining rigorous analytics with a consumer-centric ethos, PRA Group seeks to maximize recoveries while maintaining respectful and compliant interactions with debtors.

The company’s core activities include first-party and third-party collections across a range of asset classes such as credit cards, auto loans and utility receivables.