Direct Digital (NASDAQ:DRCT) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.36 EPS

Direct Digital (NASDAQ:DRCT) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.36), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $41.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.02 million. Direct Digital had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 48.38%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. Direct Digital updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Direct Digital Stock Performance

Shares of DRCT stock traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $15.21. The company had a trading volume of 189,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,926. The stock has a market cap of $217.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 114.57 and a beta of 8.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.51, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.00. Direct Digital has a 52-week low of $1.96 and a 52-week high of $35.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Noble Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Direct Digital in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Direct Digital from $27.50 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TheStreet cut shares of Direct Digital from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Direct Digital from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Direct Digital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRCT. UBS Group AG acquired a new stake in shares of Direct Digital in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Direct Digital during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Direct Digital by 335.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 123,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 94,748 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Direct Digital by 146.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 28,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 17,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp acquired a new position in Direct Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 4.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Direct Digital

Direct Digital Holdings, Inc operates as an end-to-end full-service programmatic advertising platform. The company's platform primarily focuses on providing advertising technology, data-driven campaign optimization, and other solutions to underserved and less efficient markets on both the buy- and sell-side of the digital advertising ecosystem.