i3 Verticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IIIV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

i3 Verticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IIIV) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 888,000 shares, a growth of 9.1% from the September 15th total of 814,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 204,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IIIV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of i3 Verticals in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on i3 Verticals from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of i3 Verticals in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James cut their price objective on i3 Verticals from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of i3 Verticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.14.

i3 Verticals Stock Performance

i3 Verticals stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.19. 162,681 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,698. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.91 and its 200-day moving average is $21.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $776.22 million, a PE ratio of 2,321.00 and a beta of 1.54. i3 Verticals has a 12-month low of $17.54 and a 12-month high of $25.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

i3 Verticals (NASDAQ:IIIV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.31). i3 Verticals had a negative net margin of 0.01% and a positive return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $56.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.43 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that i3 Verticals will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IIIV. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in i3 Verticals in the 2nd quarter worth $292,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of i3 Verticals by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 67,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after buying an additional 12,146 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of i3 Verticals by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 65,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP grew its position in i3 Verticals by 39.6% in the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 181,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,011,000 after acquiring an additional 51,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mason Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in i3 Verticals during the second quarter worth approximately $7,443,000. 84.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

i3 Verticals Company Profile

i3 Verticals, Inc provides integrated payment and software solutions primarily to the public sector and healthcare markets in the United States. It operates in two segments, Software and Services, and Merchant Services. The company offers payment processing services that enables upper and lower court case management, collections, finance and accounting, motor vehicle and carrier registration, e-filing and taxation, license plate inventory, property tax management, utility billing, professional licensing, document workflow, and law enforcement software; assists public schools in completing payment processing functions, including accepting payments for online or at school lunches, and school activities.