Direct Digital (NASDAQ:DRCT) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.36 EPS

Direct Digital (NASDAQ:DRCT) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.36), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $41.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.02 million. Direct Digital had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 48.38%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. Direct Digital updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Direct Digital Stock Performance

DRCT stock opened at $16.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51. The firm has a market cap of $228.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.57 and a beta of 8.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.00. Direct Digital has a twelve month low of $1.96 and a twelve month high of $35.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRCT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TheStreet downgraded Direct Digital from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Benchmark cut their price objective on Direct Digital from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Noble Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Direct Digital in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Direct Digital from $27.50 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Direct Digital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Direct Digital by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 136,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 13,431 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Direct Digital by 162.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 110,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 68,315 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Direct Digital by 60.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Direct Digital by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 4,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp purchased a new position in shares of Direct Digital in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.02% of the company’s stock.

Direct Digital Company Profile

Direct Digital Holdings, Inc operates as an end-to-end full-service programmatic advertising platform. The company's platform primarily focuses on providing advertising technology, data-driven campaign optimization, and other solutions to underserved and less efficient markets on both the buy- and sell-side of the digital advertising ecosystem.