Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 9,763,358 shares, an increase of 18.2% from the February 12th total of 8,261,730 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,040,172 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,040,172 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Playtika from $7.00 to $5.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Playtika from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wedbush cut shares of Playtika from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $3.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Playtika from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Playtika from $4.75 to $4.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Playtika currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.68.

Playtika Stock Down 1.2%

PLTK stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.86. 490,389 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,898,852. Playtika has a 52 week low of $2.67 and a 52 week high of $5.59. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.29 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.67.

Playtika (NASDAQ:PLTK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.96). Playtika had a negative return on equity of 114.29% and a negative net margin of 7.49%.The company had revenue of $678.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $660.32 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Playtika will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Playtika

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Playtika by 65.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,331,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,630,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511,228 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Playtika by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,972,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,455,000 after acquiring an additional 679,564 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Playtika by 19.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,708,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,541,000 after acquiring an additional 595,494 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Playtika by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,191,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,416,000 after buying an additional 432,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Playtika by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,816,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,594,000 after purchasing an additional 420,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.94% of the company’s stock.

Playtika Company Profile

Playtika Ltd. (NASDAQ: PLTK) is a leading developer and publisher of free-to-play mobile and social games. Established in 2010 and headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, the company has built a reputation for creating engaging, social casino and casual gaming experiences. Playtika’s platform leverages data-driven analytics and in-game community features to drive player retention and monetization across multiple titles.

The company’s diverse portfolio includes flagship social casino games such as Slotomania, Bingo Blitz and Caesars Casino, as well as skill-based and casual offerings like World Series of Poker and House of Fun.