MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) Trading Up 1% – What’s Next?

MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW) shares shot up 1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $18.32 and last traded at $18.00. Approximately 3,537 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 14,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MKTW. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MarketWise from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut MarketWise from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

MarketWise Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.86 million, a PE ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.20.

MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The newsletter publisher reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.89). The firm had revenue of $75.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.37 million. MarketWise had a negative return on equity of 0.96% and a net margin of 0.70%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MarketWise, Inc. will post 0.67 EPS for the current year.

MarketWise Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. MarketWise’s dividend payout ratio is 113.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MarketWise news, insider Erik Mickels sold 3,973 shares of MarketWise stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.14, for a total transaction of $76,043.22. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,241.74. The trade was a 5.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 29.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MarketWise

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketWise by 300.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 121,661 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 91,282 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in MarketWise in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MarketWise in the second quarter valued at about $226,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in MarketWise by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 83,627 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 10,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new position in MarketWise in the third quarter worth approximately $191,000. 23.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketWise Company Profile

MarketWise, Inc operates a content and technology multi-brand platform for self-directed investors in the United States and Internationally. Its platform includes subscription businesses that provides financial research, software, education, and tools to navigate the financial markets. The company offers various investment strategies, such as value investing, income, growth, commodities, cryptocurrencies, venture, crowdfunded investing, biotechnology, mutual funds, options, and trading; investment research product portfolio through a range of media, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile; and financial newsletters.