MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MarketWise in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

MarketWise Price Performance

Shares of MKTW stock opened at $20.68 on Friday. MarketWise has a 12 month low of $13.49 and a 12 month high of $21.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.12 million, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.91.

MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The newsletter publisher reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter. MarketWise had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a net margin of 1.29%.The firm had revenue of $77.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.74 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketWise will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

MarketWise Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from MarketWise’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. MarketWise’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Erik Mickels sold 6,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.10, for a total value of $93,990.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 88,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,246,411.80. This represents a 7.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank Porter Stansberry bought 23,103 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.28 per share, for a total transaction of $329,910.84. Following the purchase, the director owned 233,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,825.08. This represents a 11.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,000 shares of company stock worth $377,167 in the last quarter. 29.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketWise

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of MarketWise in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of MarketWise by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,199 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MarketWise in the 2nd quarter valued at about $226,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MarketWise in the 3rd quarter valued at about $191,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of MarketWise by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,899 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.04% of the company’s stock.

MarketWise Company Profile

MarketWise, Inc operates a content and technology multi-brand platform for self-directed investors in the United States and Internationally. Its platform includes subscription businesses that provides financial research, software, education, and tools to navigate the financial markets. The company offers various investment strategies, such as value investing, income, growth, commodities, cryptocurrencies, venture, crowdfunded investing, biotechnology, mutual funds, options, and trading; investment research product portfolio through a range of media, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile; and financial newsletters.