Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,740,000 shares, an increase of 76.0% from the May 31st total of 988,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 499,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Immersion Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of IMMR traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.41. 805,704 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 599,041. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.82. The company has a market cap of $299.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.48. Immersion has a 1 year low of $5.94 and a 1 year high of $11.04.

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The software maker reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59. The firm had revenue of $43.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.94 million. Immersion had a net margin of 62.74% and a return on equity of 24.50%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Immersion will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Immersion Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.045 per share. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. Immersion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.14%.

Insider Transactions at Immersion

In other news, CFO J Michael Dodson sold 4,947 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.68, for a total transaction of $52,833.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $481,166.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Immersion

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IMMR. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Immersion during the 1st quarter worth $1,285,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Immersion by 80.0% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 224,598 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 99,853 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Immersion in the fourth quarter worth $442,000. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Immersion in the fourth quarter worth $420,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Immersion in the first quarter worth $382,000. 60.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on IMMR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Immersion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target on shares of Immersion in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd.

Immersion Company Profile

Immersion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, design, development, and licensing of haptic technologies that allow people to use their sense of touch to engage with and experience various digital products in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides technology, patent, and combined licenses.