Asta Stock Falls After Kaufman Downgrade

The stock of debt purchaser Asta Funding was down in midday trading today following a downgrade of the company by influential Kaufman Brothers analyst Audrey Snell.

Snell issued a "hold" rating on Asta, downgraded from "buy", following its announcement late Friday that it had delayed filing its fiscal 2007 annual report for the year ending Sept. 30.

Snell told insideARM.com it wasn’t clear why Asta delayed the filing. “It is late in filing its fourth quarter report and annual report,” said Snell. “Until we understand why, I can’t recommend the stock."

Forbes magazine named Snell the number one analyst for stock picking in the financial sector for 2006.

Asta’s stock was down 7.8 percent in midday trading today to $25.94, below its 52-week low of $27.63. On Monday Asta’s stock fell nearly 13 percent to close at $28.14.

Asta reported late Friday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it would delay for 15 calendar days the filing of its fiscal 2007 annual report. That gives the Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based Asta until Saturday Dec. 29 to file the report.

Asta reported the delay occurred because it was busy reevaluating the value of each of its portfolios following its purchase in February of receivables with $6.9 billion in face value for $300 million. Asta said the annual report was also delayed as it worked with an unnamed third-party firm to conduct “asset searches, skiptracing efforts and (in) initiating legal actions against debtors on certain portfolios,” according to the SEC filing.