Short Interest in A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRK) Grows By 16.8%

A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMRK – Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 491,900 shares, an increase of 16.8% from the February 13th total of 421,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 218,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

A-Mark Precious Metals Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:AMRK opened at $27.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $652.25 million, a PE ratio of 4.45 and a beta of -0.09. A-Mark Precious Metals has a 12 month low of $23.71 and a 12 month high of $44.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.96.

A-Mark Precious Metals (NASDAQ:AMRK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 6th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.34). A-Mark Precious Metals had a return on equity of 40.25% and a net margin of 1.90%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. On average, research analysts expect that A-Mark Precious Metals will post 8.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A-Mark Precious Metals Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 16th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 12th. A-Mark Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.84%.

Insider Transactions at A-Mark Precious Metals

In other news, President Thor Gjerdrum sold 4,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $163,280.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 31,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,270,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Thor Gjerdrum sold 4,082 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $163,280.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 31,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,270,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carol Meltzer sold 1,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.55, for a total transaction of $33,155.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $650,100. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,120 shares of company stock worth $799,741. 23.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A-Mark Precious Metals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prelude Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of A-Mark Precious Metals by 69.5% in the second quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 8,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 3,629 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of A-Mark Precious Metals by 98.0% during the second quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 10,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 5,001 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of A-Mark Precious Metals during the second quarter worth approximately $683,000. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of A-Mark Precious Metals by 113.9% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 43,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,387,000 after buying an additional 22,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of A-Mark Precious Metals by 2.5% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 210,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,972,000 after buying an additional 5,195 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of A-Mark Precious Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of A-Mark Precious Metals in a research report on Friday, December 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northland Securities decreased their target price on shares of A-Mark Precious Metals from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th.

About A-Mark Precious Metals

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A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc engages in the trading of precious metals. It operates through the following segments: Wholesale Trading and Ancillary Services, Secured Lending, and Direct-to-Consumer. The Wholesale Trading and Ancillary Services segment offers gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in the form of bars, plates, powder, wafers, grain, ingots, and coins.