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

Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, a growth of 76.0% from the May 31st total of 988,900 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 499,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on IMMR. StockNews.com raised shares of Immersion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Immersion in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd.

Immersion Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of IMMR stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.41. The stock had a trading volume of 805,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 599,041. Immersion has a 12 month low of $5.94 and a 12 month high of $11.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $299.71 million, a PE ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.82.

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The software maker reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.59. The business had revenue of $43.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.94 million. Immersion had a net margin of 62.74% and a return on equity of 24.50%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Immersion will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Immersion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.045 dividend. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. Immersion’s payout ratio is currently 13.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Immersion

In other news, CFO J Michael Dodson sold 4,947 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.68, for a total value of $52,833.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $481,166.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Immersion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IMMR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Immersion during the fourth quarter valued at about $442,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Immersion by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,239 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 8,194 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Immersion during the third quarter valued at $142,000. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Immersion by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,669,267 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $11,785,000 after acquiring an additional 32,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Immersion by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 235,045 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 32,323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.57% of the company’s stock.

About Immersion

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.