B. Riley Initiates Coverage on Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT)

B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $8.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Performant Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

Performant Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PFMT opened at $3.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.48 million, a P/E ratio of -39.77 and a beta of 0.17. Performant Financial has a twelve month low of $2.00 and a twelve month high of $3.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.87.

Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $27.33 million for the quarter. Performant Financial had a negative net margin of 6.34% and a negative return on equity of 9.30%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Performant Financial will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Performant Financial by 20,311.4% in the fourth quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 449,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 446,850 shares in the last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Performant Financial by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 1,580,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,940,000 after acquiring an additional 281,480 shares in the last quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Performant Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 9,670,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,219,000 after acquiring an additional 291,814 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Performant Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,932,000. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Performant Financial by 4.0% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 1,995,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,868,000 after purchasing an additional 76,933 shares in the last quarter. 77.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Performant Financial Company Profile

Performant Financial Corporation provides technology-enabled audit, recovery, and analytics services in the United States. The company identifies improper payments resulting from incorrect coding, procedures that were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, and coverage discrepancies; and provides first party call center and other outsourced services.