Dolphin Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLPN) represents one of the more rare cases in micro-caps stocks where a company made the leap from the pink sheets to the Nasdaq exchange, completing its uplist on December 21, 2017.
Despite the move to the big boards, the producer and distributer of online digital content and owner of 42West has remained pretty illiquid, with an average three-month trading volume of only 10,260 shares per day, according to data on Yahoo Finance.
That average is going to change dramatically by the time Thursday is over, thanks to a ballooning of volume following the Coral Gables, Florida-based company releasing its financial results for the full year 2017 after Wednesday's closing bell.
Revenue improved 238% for the year to $22.4 million, compared to $9.4 million in 2016. Dolphin chief executive Bill O'Dowd attributed a large portion of the increase in revenue to the acquisition of 42West, a public relations and marketing company servicing the entertainment industry. In March 2017, Dolphin bought 42West in an all-stock deal worth $28 million.
Net income for 2017 was $6.9 million, or 72 cents per share, reversing course from a net loss of $37.2 million in 2016.
While the company sees more opportunities for organic growth, it will continue to explore and pursue accretive acquisitions of companies and personnel in the content marketing business.
Last year, the company brought on former Disney executive Joe Quenqua as a managing director. Elsewhere in the pipeline, Dolphin is also working on bringing at least one film into production at this time.
Shares of DLPN jumped out of the water at the opening bell, printing as high as $5.77 this morning from Wednesday's close at $3.50. As the day wears on, shares have slid back to $3.86 as of 12:17 p.m. EDT, representing a gain of 10.3% with nearly five million shares changing hands
