Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR)

Immersion Co. (NASDAQ:IMMR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 3,000 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 171% compared to the typical volume of 1,108 put options.

Immersion Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IMMR traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $8.71. The stock had a trading volume of 73,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,888. Immersion has a twelve month low of $6.54 and a twelve month high of $13.94. The company has a market capitalization of $281.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Immersion (NASDAQ:IMMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 16th. The software maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.68. Immersion had a return on equity of 27.05% and a net margin of 40.62%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Immersion will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Immersion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.245 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Immersion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Immersion by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 738,295 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,587,000 after acquiring an additional 20,982 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Immersion by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 681,414 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,078,000 after purchasing an additional 6,990 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Immersion by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 588,995 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $5,542,000 after purchasing an additional 31,110 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Immersion by 43.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 498,213 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $4,688,000 after purchasing an additional 150,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Immersion by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 405,480 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,617,000 after buying an additional 31,063 shares during the period. 60.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IMMR. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $13.50 price target on shares of Immersion in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Immersion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th.

Immersion Company Profile

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.