LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RAMP) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 872,206 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 835,360 shares.The stock last traded at $37.7750 and had previously closed at $37.77.

Trending Headlines about LiveRamp

Here are the key news stories impacting LiveRamp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Publicis Groupe agreed to acquire LiveRamp in an all-cash deal, giving shareholders a clear takeover premium and supporting the stock. Reuters: France’s Publicis to buy US data firm LiveRamp in $2.2 billion
• Positive Sentiment: LiveRamp’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 9.2% year over year and annual recurring revenue up 8%, reinforcing the business case behind the acquisition. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson cut its rating to Neutral while lifting its target to $38.50, signaling valuation is now close to the deal price. LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP) Given “Neutral” Rating at DA Davidson
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder firms are investigating whether LiveRamp’s board obtained a fair price in the sale, which could add legal noise and delay around the transaction. Johnson Fistel Investigates Potential Board Fiduciary Duty Breaches in the Proposed Sale of LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RAMP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore started coverage on shares of LiveRamp in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of LiveRamp from $53.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of LiveRamp from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Craig Hallum lowered LiveRamp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $38.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LiveRamp in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.43.

LiveRamp Trading Down 0.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.25 and its 200-day moving average is $27.74.

LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP) last released its earnings results on Sunday, May 17th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). LiveRamp had a return on equity of 6.40% and a net margin of 8.64%.The firm had revenue of $206.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

LiveRamp declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of LiveRamp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in LiveRamp by 769.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in LiveRamp during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of LiveRamp during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of LiveRamp by 197.0% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of LiveRamp in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.83% of the company’s stock.

About LiveRamp

LiveRamp Holdings, Inc is a leading provider of data connectivity and identity resolution services for marketers, publishers and platforms. The company’s core technology enables organizations to link disparate data sources—such as CRM systems, web engagements and offline transaction records—into a single, privacy-safe view of individual consumers. By standardizing and anonymizing identifiers, LiveRamp’s platform facilitates targeted media activation, measurement and analytics across digital, mobile, addressable TV and offline channels.

The company offers a suite of products designed to support every stage of the data lifecycle.