Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.22 EPS

Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.22, FiscalAI reports. Acacia Research had a negative net margin of 5.39% and a positive return on equity of 0.44%. The company had revenue of $114.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.50 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Acacia Research’s conference call:

• Q2 results were strong, with revenue of $114.6 million, total company adjusted EBITDA of $17.3 million, and adjusted net income of $12.8 million, or $0.13 per diluted share.
• Acacia ended the quarter with $334.6 million in cash, securities, and loans receivable and no parent-company debt, providing flexibility for acquisitions and investment in existing businesses. Management said its acquisition pipeline is active, particularly for bilateral and distressed opportunities.
• Benchmark delivered record revenue of $20.5 million, $9.8 million of adjusted EBITDA, and $6.5 million of free cash flow; management is evaluating additional wells and expects future drilling economics to be similar to the Cherokee development.
• The intellectual property platform generated approximately $60.6 million in licensing revenue, primarily from a Wi-Fi 6 settlement, but management cautioned that licensing revenue is episodic and is reduced by payments to counsel, inventors, and partners; settlement cash was received after quarter-end.
• Acacia fully wrote down its MalinJ1 investment following liquidity problems at Mycovia, although it is exploring a transaction that could provide direct ownership in Mycovia; any recovery depends on financing and uncertain FDA milestones for VIVJOA.

Acacia Research Trading Up 2.9%

NASDAQ:ACTG opened at $4.67 on Friday. Acacia Research has a 52 week low of $3.13 and a 52 week high of $5.27. The stock has a market cap of $451.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.13 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.56. The company has a quick ratio of 8.09, a current ratio of 8.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Acacia Research

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACTG. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Acacia Research by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,145,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,766,000 after acquiring an additional 355,916 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Acacia Research by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 441,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,653,000 after acquiring an additional 174,752 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Acacia Research during the second quarter worth about $614,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Acacia Research by 497.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 85,784 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in Acacia Research by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 226,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 53,735 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Acacia Research from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

About Acacia Research

Acacia Research Corporation is a publicly traded patent licensing company based in New York City. The firm specializes in acquiring patented technologies through a network of wholly owned subsidiaries and seeking licensing agreements or settlements with companies that utilize those technologies. Since its founding in 1993, Acacia has built a business model centered on identifying innovative inventions and monetizing them through patent enforcement and strategic partnerships.

The company’s activities span a broad range of technology sectors, including life sciences, medical devices, software, telecommunications and consumer electronics.