Short Interest in Talkspace, Inc. (NASDAQ:TALK) Rises By 22.9%

Talkspace, Inc. (NASDAQ:TALK) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,630,000 shares, a growth of 22.9% from the December 15th total of 4,580,000 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on TALK shares. Northland Capmk upgraded Talkspace to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Talkspace from $2.00 to $3.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Talkspace in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Talkspace in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $4.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Talkspace in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Talkspace currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $4.38.

Talkspace Price Performance

Shares of TALK stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $3.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,090,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,035. Talkspace has a 1-year low of $1.60 and a 1-year high of $3.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.54. The company has a market capitalization of $513.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -304.00 and a beta of 1.14.

Talkspace (NASDAQ:TALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $47.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.50 million. Talkspace had a negative net margin of 0.76% and a negative return on equity of 1.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Talkspace will post 0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Talkspace

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Talkspace by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,176,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,549,000 after buying an additional 580,826 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in Talkspace in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,045,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Talkspace by 448.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 526,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 430,861 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in Talkspace during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $921,000. Finally, Divisadero Street Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Talkspace by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 3,111,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,157,000 after purchasing an additional 361,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.37% of the company’s stock.

About Talkspace

Talkspace, Inc operates as a virtual behavioral healthcare company in the United States. The company offers psychotherapy and psychiatry services through its platform to individuals, enterprises, and health plans and employee assistance programs. It provides text, audio, and video-based psychotherapy from licensed therapists.