Short Interest in QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST) Drops By 19.9%

QuinStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:QNST) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a decline of 19.9% from the January 15th total of 1,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 497,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of QuinStreet in a research report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price objective (up previously from $32.00) on shares of QuinStreet in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of QuinStreet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of QuinStreet from $25.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of QuinStreet from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.80.

Insider Activity

In other QuinStreet news, CEO Douglas Valenti sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $250,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,836,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,955,585.08. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stuart Huizinga sold 2,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $68,540.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 171,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,954,229. The trade was a 1.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $481,674 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of QuinStreet

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PDT Partners LLC lifted its stake in QuinStreet by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 40,515 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 12,638 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in QuinStreet by 130.6% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 39,900 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 22,600 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in QuinStreet by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 652,650 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,057,000 after acquiring an additional 86,970 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in QuinStreet in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in QuinStreet by 507.7% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 68,162 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 56,946 shares during the period. 97.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

QuinStreet Stock Performance

NASDAQ QNST traded down $0.44 on Friday, hitting $22.64. 615,877 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,301. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -102.91 and a beta of 1.06. QuinStreet has a 52-week low of $14.14 and a 52-week high of $26.27.

QuinStreet (NASDAQ:QNST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The technology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.21). QuinStreet had a negative net margin of 1.31% and a negative return on equity of 4.16%. Sell-side analysts expect that QuinStreet will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About QuinStreet

QuinStreet, Inc, an online performance marketing company, provides customer acquisition services for its clients in the United States and internationally. The company offers online marketing services, such as qualified clicks, leads, calls, applications, and customers through its websites or third-party publishers.