AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) Short Interest Up 55.3% in March

AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a growth of 55.3% from the March 15th total of 669,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 232,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AFC Gamma news, CEO Daniel Neville bought 16,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.32 per share, for a total transaction of $102,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 177,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,120,289.52. This trade represents a 10.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leonard M. Tannenbaum purchased 32,007 shares of AFC Gamma stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.52 per share, for a total transaction of $208,685.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,909,876 shares in the company, valued at $25,492,391.52. This represents a 0.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 146,606 shares of company stock worth $930,691 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 26.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AFC Gamma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AFCG. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in AFC Gamma in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in shares of AFC Gamma by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 20,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of AFC Gamma by 257.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 16,245 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AFC Gamma by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in AFC Gamma by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. 26.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AFC Gamma in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded AFC Gamma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, March 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.67.

AFC Gamma Stock Performance

AFCG stock opened at $5.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $113.66 million, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 1.19. AFC Gamma has a 1-year low of $4.34 and a 1-year high of $12.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.92, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.45.

AFC Gamma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. AFC Gamma’s payout ratio is 115.00%.

AFC Gamma Company Profile

AFC Gamma, Inc originates, structures, underwrites, and invests in senior secured loans, and other various commercial real estate loans and debt securities for established companies operating in the cannabis industry. It primarily originates loans structured as senior loans secured by real estate, equipment, and licenses and/or other assets of the loan parties to the extent permitted by applicable laws and the regulations governing such loan parties.