Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $29,000 in CuriosityStream Inc. (NASDAQ:CURI)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in CuriosityStream Inc. (NASDAQ:CURI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in CuriosityStream in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in CuriosityStream by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 27,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares during the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in CuriosityStream by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 67,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 10,182 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CuriosityStream by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 330,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 7,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in CuriosityStream by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 470,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 41,454 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John S. Hendricks sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.20, for a total transaction of $780,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,570,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,967,042. This trade represents a 0.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 418,190 shares of company stock worth $2,238,924. Insiders own 49.60% of the company’s stock.

CuriosityStream Trading Down 9.8%

CuriosityStream stock opened at $4.59 on Friday. CuriosityStream Inc. has a 1-year low of $0.99 and a 1-year high of $7.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.39 and a beta of 1.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.04.

CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by $0.02. CuriosityStream had a negative net margin of 28.56% and a negative return on equity of 22.18%. The firm had revenue of $15.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.95 million. On average, research analysts forecast that CuriosityStream Inc. will post -0.2 EPS for the current year.

CuriosityStream Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. CuriosityStream’s payout ratio is currently -228.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CURI. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of CuriosityStream from $2.95 to $4.80 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barrington Research upgraded shares of CuriosityStream from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

CuriosityStream Profile

CuriosityStream Inc operates as a factual content streaming service and media company. The company provides premium video and audio programming services in various categories of factual entertainment, including science, history, society, nature, lifestyle, and technology through direct subscription video on-demand (SVoD) platforms accessible by internet connected devices, or indirectly via distribution partners who deliver CuriosityStream content via distributor's platform or system, as well as through bundled content licenses for SVoD and linear offerings, talks and courses, and partner bulk sales.