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

Direct Digital (NASDAQ:DRCT) posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Direct Digital had a return on equity of 48.38% and a net margin of 1.26%. The firm had revenue of $41.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. Direct Digital updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Direct Digital Stock Down 39.5 %

NASDAQ:DRCT opened at $16.04 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $228.89 million, a PE ratio of 114.57 and a beta of 8.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.00. Direct Digital has a 1-year low of $1.96 and a 1-year high of $35.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DRCT. Noble Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Direct Digital in a report on Wednesday. Roth Mkm cut their price target on shares of Direct Digital from $27.50 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Direct Digital from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their target price on Direct Digital from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Direct Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Direct Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Direct Digital in the third quarter worth $30,000. UBS Group AG purchased a new position in shares of Direct Digital in the first quarter worth $31,000. State Street Corp purchased a new position in shares of Direct Digital during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Direct Digital by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 3,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the last quarter. 4.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Direct Digital Company Profile

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.