Liquidity Services (NASDAQ:LQDT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Liquidity Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:LQDT) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $25.75, but opened at $31.00. Liquidity Services shares last traded at $30.58, with a volume of 193,193 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Liquidity Services from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Liquidity Services in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Liquidity Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

Liquidity Services Stock Up 5.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 56.41 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.18 and its 200-day moving average is $22.13.

Institutional Trading of Liquidity Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liquidity Services by 81.7% in the 2nd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 82,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,645,000 after acquiring an additional 37,010 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Liquidity Services by 14.6% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 122,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 15,592 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Liquidity Services by 6.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 57,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Liquidity Services by 15.7% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 503,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,060,000 after buying an additional 68,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liquidity Services in the second quarter worth about $87,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.15% of the company’s stock.

About Liquidity Services

Liquidity Services, Inc provides e-commerce marketplaces, self-directed auction listing tools, and value-added services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: GovDeals, Retail Supply Chain Group (RSCG), Capital Assets Group (CAG), and Machinio. Its marketplaces include liquidation.com that enable corporations to sell surplus and salvage consumer goods and retail capital assets; GovDeals marketplace, which provides self-directed service solutions in which sellers list their own assets that enables local and state government entities, and commercial businesses located in the United States and Canada to sell surplus and salvage assets; and AllSurplus, a centralized marketplace that connects global buyer base with assets from across the network of marketplaces in a single destination.