Short Interest in SurgePays, Inc. (NASDAQ:SURG) Declines By 19.3%

SurgePays, Inc. (NASDAQ:SURG) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 392,300 shares, a decline of 19.3% from the October 15th total of 486,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 182,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Ascendiant Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of SurgePays from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th.

SurgePays Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of SURG opened at $1.63 on Friday. SurgePays has a 1-year low of $1.33 and a 1-year high of $9.23. The company has a market capitalization of $32.19 million, a P/E ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 7.38 and a quick ratio of 6.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.62.

SurgePays (NASDAQ:SURG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The medical equipment provider reported ($0.66) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $15.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 million. SurgePays had a negative return on equity of 52.33% and a negative net margin of 27.39%. Sell-side analysts forecast that SurgePays will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SurgePays announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical equipment provider to purchase up to 14.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin Brian Cox sold 35,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.48, for a total transaction of $51,948.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,786,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,563,297.76. This trade represents a 0.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Anthony George Evers sold 33,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.54, for a total transaction of $51,334.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 261,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,848.60. This trade represents a 11.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,434 shares of company stock valued at $103,514. Corporate insiders own 29.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SurgePays

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of SurgePays during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in SurgePays during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in SurgePays by 49.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,331 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 7,998 shares in the last quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of SurgePays by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. now owns 29,864 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of SurgePays by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 36,000 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.94% of the company’s stock.

About SurgePays

SurgePays, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a financial technology and telecom company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mobile Virtual Network Operators, Comprehensive Platform Services, and Lead Generation. The company offers subsidized and non-subsidized mobile virtual network operators for internet connectivity through mobile broadband services to consumers; ACH banking relationships and fintech transactions platform to convenience stores; wireless top-up transactions and wireless product aggregation; and lead generation and case management solutions primarily to law firms in the mass tort industry, as well as call center activities.