ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG)
Financials · diversified financial holding company · NASDAQ
Acacia Research is a value-oriented holding company that acquires and operationally transforms businesses to drive long-term cash flow and shareholder value.
What ACACIA RESEARCH CORP does
Acacia Research Corporation is a value-oriented acquirer and operator of businesses across the industrial, energy, and technology sectors. The company focuses on acquiring and managing companies with stable free cash flow, often targeting complex situations, public-private carve-outs, or underperforming assets to improve their operational performance. Unlike traditional private equity, Acacia maintains a long-term ownership model and actively utilizes its capital base and industry relationships to scale its portfolio companies.
Recent developments
In Q2 2026, the company reported revenue of $114.6 million, a 124% increase YoY, driven primarily by higher paid-up licensing revenue in its Intellectual Property Operations segment. Benchmark Energy achieved its strongest revenue quarter under Acacia's ownership.
From ACACIA RESEARCH CORP's filing of 2026-08-06.
Themes: value investing, intellectual property licensing, energy operations, industrial manufacturing, corporate restructuring
Fundamentals
- Price$4.39 as of 2026-10-08 close
- Market cap$428M as of 2026-08-03 (share count; price 2026-10-08)
- 1-year return+29.1% 2025-10-08 close $3.40 → 2026-10-08 close $4.39
- P/En/a negative earnings
- Net margin+7.6% FY2025, SEC XBRL
- Gross margin+29.6% FY2025, SEC XBRL
- ROE+3.7% FY2025, SEC XBRL
- Debt / equity0.17 as of 2026-09-03
- Revenue growth (YoY)-3.3% as of 2026-09-03
- Revenue CAGR (3y)+68.9% SEC XBRL
- Beta0.70 as of 2026-09-03
- Last reported earnings2026-08-05 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)
Dividend: does not currently pay a dividend.
How ACTG compares in its sector
- net profit marginmiddle range 344 covered Financials peers, as of 2026-09-03
- operating marginbottom 25% 122 covered Financials peers, as of 2026-09-03
- gross marginbottom 25% 32 covered Financials peers, as of 2026-09-03
- return on equitybottom 25% 559 covered Financials peers, as of 2026-09-03
- 3-year revenue CAGRtop 10% 347 covered Financials peers
Position among covered Financials companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.
Dividend coverage
Not assessed — last reported dividend predates the accounts. The most recent fiscal year in which ACTG reported a dividend payment is FY2023, while its reported financial statements run through FY2025. Coverage is therefore not assessed for the latest year — an FY2023 ratio would not describe ACTG today.
Coverage is derived from reported SEC EDGAR XBRL figures, comparing dividends paid against net income and free cash flow for the SAME fiscal year. It is not shown here because the latest fiscal year with a reported dividend payment (FY2023) is older than the latest year of reported financial statements (FY2025), so any ratio would describe an out-of-date year. Informational only — not financial advice.
How ACACIA RESEARCH CORP looks technically
ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) is trading 1.7% below its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a long-term downtrend. Its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 207 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal. A trend is forming but not yet strong — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 21 (a reading of 25+ marks a strong trend). Momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 48, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30). MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 3 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive). It made a new 20-day low about 10 trading days ago. It is 16.7% below its highest point of the past year.
Trend
8
| Distance from the 200-day | it is trading 1.7% below its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a long-term downtrend | -1.7% |
|---|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | its average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $4.50 | $4.50 |
| 200-day moving average | its average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $4.47 | $4.47 |
| Swing structure | each recent peak has been lower than the one before it and each dip deeper — the pattern chart-watchers call a downtrend, which describes where price has already been and not where it goes next | lower highs and lower lows |
| Last swing turn | its last significant turn was a swing low 15 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on | 15 sessions |
| Wave structure | its recent swings can be read as a completed three-part downward correction — a pullback in the A-B-C shape Elliott-wave chartists use; the labelling fails if price closes below 4.23. It is the only labelling that fits, and it describes the swings already printed, not what comes next. | possible three-wave downward correction, complete |
| Since the 50/200 cross | its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 207 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal | 207 sessions |
| Trend strength (14-day ADX) | a trend is forming but not yet strong — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 21 (a reading of 25+ marks a strong trend) | 20.6 |
Momentum
3
| 14-day RSI | momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 48, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30) | 47.8 |
|---|---|---|
| Position in its 14-day range | it is trading in the upper half of its 14-day range ($4.23 to $4.50) — its "stochastic" reading is 59 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been climbing within that range over the last few sessions. | 59.3 |
| Since the MACD crossed zero | MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 3 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive) | 3 sessions |
Range
12
| 52-week high | its highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $5.27 | $5.27 |
|---|---|---|
| From the 52-week high | it is 16.7% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year) | -16.7% |
| Above the 52-week low | it is 36.3% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year) | +36.3% |
| Below the 52-week high | it is 16.7% below its highest point of the past year | 16.7% |
| Since a 20-day breakout | it made a new 20-day low about 10 trading days ago | 10 sessions |
| Since a 55-day breakout | it made a new 55-day low about 10 trading days ago | 10 sessions |
| All-time high | its highest closing price on record is $47.24 (set on 2011-09-19) | $47.24 |
| Given back of the 52-week move | over the past year its closes ranged ($3.26 to $5.16), and it has given back roughly a third of its rise from last year’s low — 41% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $3.92 to $3.99. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast. | 40.5% |
| From the all-time high | it is 90.7% below its all-time high | -90.7% |
| Nearest price level | it is sitting right on a support level at $4.38 — a price it turned at four times since 2024-12-03, most recently on 2026-08-31. Since 2024-10-08 it has 10 such levels below the current price and 6 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go. | -0.1% |
| All-time low | its lowest closing price on record is $1.75 (set on 2020-03-16) | $1.75 |
| Above the all-time low | it is 150.9% above its all-time low | +150.9% |
Volatility
5
| Band width vs its own 6 months | day-to-day price swings are about average versus its own recent 6-month history | 62nd percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily range | in a typical session it travels about $0.101 between its high and its low — about 2.3% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was | $0.101 |
| Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ) | most of its recent trading has stayed between about $4.20 and $4.59 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles | $4.20 – $4.39 – $4.59 |
| Typical daily range (% of price) | its price moves about 2.3% in a typical session — calmer than most companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price | 2.3% |
| Stretch from the 200-day average | it is trading 0.8 daily ranges below its 200-day average price (1.7% below it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale | 0.8 daily ranges below its 200-day average |
Volume
1
| Volume vs its 30-day average | trading volume is about normal versus its 30-day average | 0.83× |
|---|
Analyst
2
| Change in the average price target | analysts' average price target is unchanged from the prior reading | 0.0% |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the consensus rating | not available for this company yet | n/a |
Candlestick patterns
1
| Since a bullish engulfing | 2 sessions ago it opened below the previous session's close and finished above that session's open — a "bullish engulfing" pair, where one up day more than undid the down day before it | 2 sessions ago |
|---|
Price gaps
2
| Gap at the open | it opened on 2026-10-08 0.9% below the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and traded back through that level before the close | -0.9% |
|---|---|---|
| Gap filled | a 8.0% gap up opened on 2026-08-05 has been "filled" 45 sessions ago — price traded back through the level the gap left behind, and it closed again during the very session that opened it | 45 sessions ago |
Price streaks
1
| Closing streak | it closed higher in its latest session, after a session that did not close higher — a single up day rather than a run | 1 session up |
|---|
Relative strength
4
| vs market, 1 month | over the past 1 month this stock lagged the market by 4.8 percentage points (the stock lost 3.7% while the market gained 1.0%) | -4.8% |
|---|---|---|
| vs market, 3 months | over the past 3 months this stock lagged the market by 5.4 percentage points (the stock lost 1.6% while the market gained 3.8%) | -5.4% |
| vs market, 6 months | over the past 6 months this stock lagged the market by 30.0 percentage points (the stock lost 12.5% while the market gained 17.5%) | -30.0% |
| vs market, 12 months | over the past 12 months this stock beat the market by 14.1 percentage points (the stock gained 29.1% while the market gained 15.0%) | +14.1% |
Signal agreement
2
| Bullish technical signals | 2 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bullish state: a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day, MACD momentum is positive — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 2 of 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Bearish technical signals | 3 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bearish state: trading below its 200-day average, lagging the market over 6 months, trading below the Ichimoku cloud — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 3 of 9 |
Trend (Ichimoku cloud)
1
| Vs the Ichimoku cloud | trading 4.1% below the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-09-01 and projected forward over today's price, the side traders read as an established downtrend, with the band above acting as the level that would have to be cleared. The band itself is thin, spanning 1.4% of the share price, which is taken to mean a barrier that gives way easily. | -4.1% |
|---|
Volume-weighted price
2
| Vs this year’s average price paid | the price is 4% below the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is under water. That average is $4.58 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 190 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | -4.2% |
|---|---|---|
| Vs the average paid since it last reported | the price is 3% below the average price paid since it last reported on 2026-08-05 (its 8-K), so the typical buyer over that stretch is under water. That average is $4.53 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 46 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | -3.0% |
Head and shoulders, bearish — broke down · entry $4.46 · 53 sessions in
Price levels it has turned at before
ACTG last closed at $4.39 on 2026-10-08. Since 2024-10-08 it has turned at 10 prices below its last close and 6 above; the 3 nearest below and the 3 nearest above are listed, nearest first.
| Level | Side | Distance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4.38 | Support | 0.1% below the last close | turned there four times · 2024-12-03 to 2026-08-31 |
| $4.28 | Support | 2.4% below the last close | turned there 7 times · 2024-11-04 to 2026-09-23 |
| $4.51 | Resistance | 2.7% above the last close | turned there four times · 2025-01-22 to 2026-05-21 |
| $4.58 | Resistance | 4.4% above the last close | turned there twice · 2024-12-06 to 2026-06-05 |
| $4.16 | Support | 5.2% below the last close | turned there three times · 2024-11-12 to 2025-02-12 |
| $4.69 | Resistance | 6.8% above the last close | turned there three times · 2024-11-25 to 2026-09-03 |
A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Wave structure
Its recent swings can be read as a three-part downward correction — the A-B-C shape chartists use for a pullback — now complete.
This labelling fails — stops being a possible reading at all — if it closes below $4.23.
It is the only labelling that fits these swings, though its proportions are not the textbook ones.
This reading has stood for 1 trading day, since 2026-10-08.
Read from daily closes as of 2026-10-08.
An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.
Screens: Trading below the 200-day moving average · MACD just crossed bullish (12/26/9) · lagging the market · Under water since its last earnings report (below the anchored VWAP) · Trading below the Ichimoku cloud · Near a support level (sitting on a price it has bounced off before) | Learn: moving average · golden cross · adx · rsi · macd · breakout · fifty two week high low
Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-10-08. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.
Analyst consensus
- Mean price target$6.00 range $6.00 – $6.00
Analyst estimates, as of 2026-10-06. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.
Analyst EPS estimate for ACTG
- Consensus EPS estimate-$0.1 next reporting period, as of 2026-10-06
- Estimate change, 30 days$0.00 from -$0.1, on 2026-09-05, 31-day window
- Readings revised upward0% of 9 comparable readings
The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Reliance on a concentrated number of operating subsidiaries and intellectual property licensing outcomes.","Risks associated with acquisitions, including the ability to identify, integrate, and scale target businesses effectively.","Market volatility and its impact on the valuation of the company's equity securities and investment portfolio."]
What changed in the latest 10-Q
AI-assisted comparison of ACTG's 10-Q filed 2026-08-06 against the prior one filed 2026-05-07.
Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
- Added:
- Newer filing includes comparative periods for three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025; older filing includes only three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025.
- Newer filing uses 'UNAUDITED' in the balance sheet heading for the interim periods (June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025); older filing marks only March 31, 2026 as Unaudited.
- Reworded:
- Newer filing's balance sheet as of June 30, 2026 shows equity method investments of $0; older filing's balance sheet as of March 31, 2026 shows equity method investments of $30,934.
- Newer filing's income statement includes an 'Impairment of equity method investment' line of $(30,934) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026; older filing has no such line.
- Newer filing's statement of stockholders' equity relates to three months ended June 30, 2026; older filing relates to three months ended March 31, 2026.
- Newer filing includes a 'Gain on sale of equity securities' line; older filing labels the corresponding line '(Loss) gain on sale of equity securities'.
- Newer filing presents 'Total other (expense) income' for both three- and six-month periods as negative; older filing presents 'Total other expense' for a single three-month period.
- Notes:
- The source texts appear to be excerpts of the financial statements portions of the filings rather than the full MD&A narrative sections.
- The statement of stockholders' equity is truncated in the newer filing, limiting comparison of that section.
- No MD&A narrative text is present in either excerpt, so only financial statement contents could be compared.
Risk Factors
The two filings could not be meaningfully compared for this section.
AI-assisted comparison of two SEC filing sections. It describes wording and theme changes only, makes no materiality, legal, or investment judgement, and is not financial advice. Informational only — not financial advice.
Insider activity (SEC Form 4)
0 open-market purchases and 5 open-market sales by insiders in the last 90 days, of which we have read Form 4 filings through 2026-10-04. The 5 days since 2026-10-04 have not been checked yet.
- Last 30 days · read to 2026-10-040 buys · 1 sell ($109200) — 1 selling insider
- Last 90 days · read to 2026-10-040 buys · 5 sells ($457560) — 2 selling insiders
- Last 180 days · read to 2026-10-040 buys · 5 sells ($457560) — 2 selling insiders
Activity heuristic: net selling (a transparent product heuristic from the counts above, not a prediction or advice)
Most recent open-market transaction: 2026-09-15. Based on Form 4 filings read through 2026-10-04; anything filed since is not yet included.
View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filingsAsk about ACTG's insider activity →
Only open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.
Institutional ownership (13F)
5 institutional 13F filers reported holding ACTG as of 2026-06-30 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).
- Distinct 13F filers 5
- Reported shares held 7,753,862
- Reported value $36,132,998
reported quarterly holdings change (2026-03-31 → 2026-06-30): 0 new, 4 increased, 1 decreased, 0 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".
Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.
Ask about ACTG's institutional holders → See what each manager we track holds →
Short interest (FINRA)
ACTG had 2,047,000 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-09-15 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).
ACTG had 2.10% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-09-15 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 11.79 days to cover at the same settlement.
- Reported short interest (shares) 2,047,000
- Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 2.10%
- Prior settlement (shares) 2,027,654
- Reported change 0.95%
- Days to cover (reported) 11.79
Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-09-15 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.
Competitors & peers
- Starboard Value, LP
- Icahn Enterprises (IEP)
- Berkshire Hathaway
- Apollo Global Management (APO)
- Blackstone (BX)
AI-enriched competitor set. Linked names are companies covered by stocks-llm; other named peers are shown for reference only.
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Frequently asked questions
What does ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) do?
Acacia Research Corporation is a value-oriented acquirer and operator of businesses across the industrial, energy, and technology sectors. The company focuses on acquiring and managing companies with stable free cash flow, often targeting complex situations, public-private carve-outs, or underperforming assets to improve their operational performance.
What sector is ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) in?
ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) is classified in the Financials sector. Its industry is diversified financial holding company. It trades on NASDAQ.
Does ACTG pay a dividend?
No — ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) does not currently pay a dividend (market data, as of 2026-09-03). Informational only — not financial advice.
Who are ACACIA RESEARCH CORP's (ACTG) competitors?
Notable peers of ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) include Starboard Value, LP, Icahn Enterprises, Berkshire Hathaway, Apollo Global Management and Blackstone. This peer set is informational only — not financial advice.
Is ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) overbought or oversold right now?
ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) is currently neither overbought nor oversold — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 48, in the neutral middle (as of 2026-10-08). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.
Where does stocks-llm's data on ACTG come from?
Fundamentals come from SEC XBRL company filings for the figures marked with a fiscal year, and market data, as of 2026-09-03 for the rest; prices are market data, as of 2026-09-03; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.
Fundamentals: SEC XBRL company filings for the figures marked with a fiscal year, and market data, as of 2026-09-03 for the rest. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-10-08.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.