Performant Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PFMT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

by · The Markets Daily

Performant Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PFMT – Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, an increase of 18.0% from the September 30th total of 881,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 139,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Performant Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,046,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after acquiring an additional 191,100 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,256,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,545,000 after buying an additional 37,500 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Performant Financial by 170.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 50,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 31,710 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Performant Financial by 32.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 20,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Performant Financial by 12.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 526,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 60,300 shares during the period. 77.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on PFMT shares. Craig Hallum raised Performant Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Performant Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Performant Financial

Performant Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Performant Financial stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $3.86. The company had a trading volume of 75,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,009. Performant Financial has a 1 year low of $2.14 and a 1 year high of $4.04. The stock has a market cap of $297.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.11 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.69 and a 200 day moving average of $3.26.

Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $29.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 million. Performant Financial had a negative net margin of 5.32% and a negative return on equity of 8.11%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Performant Financial will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Performant Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Performant Financial Corporation provides technology-enabled audit, recovery, and analytics services in the United States. The company identifies improper payments resulting from incorrect coding, procedures that were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, and coverage discrepancies; and provides first party call center and other outsourced services.

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