Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Makes New Investment in PowerFleet (NASDAQ:PWFL)

Article written by Joseph McCarthy
Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of PowerFleet (NASDAQ:PWFL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 230,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned approximately 0.77% of PowerFleet as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PWFL. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PowerFleet by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 500,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 42,557 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in PowerFleet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $840,000. Phoenix Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in PowerFleet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,336,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PowerFleet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,114,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PowerFleet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $399,000. Institutional investors own 49.05% of the company’s stock.
A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of PowerFleet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barrington Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of PowerFleet in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 price target on shares of PowerFleet in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Roth Capital started coverage on PowerFleet in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Finally, ValuEngine cut PowerFleet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.70.
Shares of PWFL stock opened at $4.55 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4.04 and its 200-day moving average is $5.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.44 million, a PE ratio of -7.98 and a beta of 2.00. PowerFleet has a 52 week low of $2.55 and a 52 week high of $8.50.
PowerFleet (NASDAQ:PWFL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.12). PowerFleet had a negative return on equity of 5.79% and a negative net margin of 13.38%. The business had revenue of $35.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.80 million. As a group, analysts forecast that PowerFleet will post 0.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Original Source: https://theenterpriseleader.com/2020/05/08/essex-investment-management-co-llc-makes-new-investment-in-powerfleet-nasdaqpwfl.html