Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Lake Street Capital

Investment analysts at Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on shares of Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. Lake Street Capital’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 54.32% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Fluent from $2.50 to $3.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.25.

Fluent Stock Performance

Fluent stock opened at $3.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $96.58 million, a PE ratio of -2.97 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $3.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.78. Fluent has a fifty-two week low of $1.50 and a fifty-two week high of $4.15.

Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 9th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $61.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.85 million. Fluent had a negative return on equity of 119.04% and a negative net margin of 13.01%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fluent will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James Geygan acquired 65,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.47 per share, for a total transaction of $226,063.56. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,040,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,551,072.85. This trade represents a 2.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Global Value Investment Corp. acquired 65,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.47 per share, for a total transaction of $226,063.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,089,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,721,175.72. This represents a 2.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 164,835 shares of company stock valued at $572,666. 43.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fluent

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mink Brook Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fluent in the 3rd quarter valued at about $634,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its position in Fluent by 65.3% during the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 39,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 15,777 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Fluent by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 144,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 44,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Fluent in the fourth quarter worth $84,000. 23.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fluent Company Profile

Fluent, Inc is a performance marketing and customer acquisition platform that helps consumer brands drive leads and sales through data-driven digital campaigns. The company specializes in direct-response marketing, executing campaigns across multiple channels including email, display, paid search, social media and native advertising. By focusing on measurable outcomes such as cost per acquisition and return on ad spend, Fluent tailors solutions to meet the specific objectives of its clients.

The company’s proprietary technology leverages first-party data sourced from its network of consumer-facing digital properties and programmatic partnerships.