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

Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,930,000 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the June 30th total of 1,820,000 shares. Currently, 6.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 645,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Immersion by 4.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,120 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Immersion by 2.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 50,670 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Immersion by 1.5% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 104,805 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its holdings in Immersion by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 104,834 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Immersion by 4.1% in the first quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 61,941 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the period. 60.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Immersion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BWS Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Immersion in a research report on Monday, July 1st.

Immersion Stock Performance

Shares of Immersion stock opened at $12.07 on Friday. Immersion has a fifty-two week low of $5.94 and a fifty-two week high of $13.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.71 and a 200 day moving average of $8.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 1.50.

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The software maker reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.59. Immersion had a return on equity of 24.50% and a net margin of 62.74%. The business had revenue of $43.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.94 million. Analysts forecast that Immersion will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Immersion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.045 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Immersion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.14%.

About Immersion

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.