Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,080,000 shares, a growth of 35.7% from the August 15th total of 2,270,000 shares. Approximately 10.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 996,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Immersion Price Performance

NASDAQ:IMMR traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $8.73. 583,717 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 696,888. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.18. Immersion has a 52 week low of $5.94 and a 52 week high of $13.94. The firm has a market cap of $278.09 million, a P/E ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.48.

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 19th. The software maker reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.55. Immersion had a return on equity of 27.05% and a net margin of 40.62%. The firm had revenue of $99.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Immersion will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Immersion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Immersion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Immersion news, CEO Eric Singer bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.77 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,912,867 shares in the company, valued at $16,775,843.59. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider William C. Martin purchased 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.81 per share, for a total transaction of $132,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,364,265 shares in the company, valued at $12,019,174.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric Singer purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.77 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,912,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,775,843.59. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 66,155 shares of company stock valued at $580,675. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Immersion by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 45,132 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Immersion in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Immersion by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,315 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its stake in shares of Immersion by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 56,830 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Immersion by 226.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,859 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 124,143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IMMR. StockNews.com upgraded Immersion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BWS Financial increased their price target on Immersion from $11.00 to $13.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Immersion Company Profile

Immersion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, design, development, and licensing of haptic technologies that allow people to use their sense of touch to engage with and experience various digital products in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides technology, patent, and combined licenses.