Investments

La Rosa Holdings shares advance after acquisition of competitor

The acquisition should bring La Rosa closer to its annual revenue guidance of $100 million / Photo: larosaholdings.com

Shares of La Rosa Holdings, which provides real estate brokerage and related services, advanced about 5% on Tuesday, August 27. The trigger was an announcement that the company had completed the acquisition of a competitor, which will enable it to offer new services, including title insurance.

Details 

La Rosa Holdings stock gained 4.82% on the Nasdaq on Tuesday, pushing above the $1 per share mark. Still, it is off over 29% for the year to date and almost 79% over the last 12 months.

Earlier on Tuesday, La Rosa announced that it had completed the acquisition of Nona Title Agency, a Florida-based full-service escrow settlement and title company. The press release says the deal will allow La Rosa to offer title insurance services, which help sellers or buyers to protect themselves against “defects” in a property title. 

“This acquisition exemplifies the vertical integration strategy that supports our growth trajectory,” company CEO Joseph La Rosa said.

About the company 

La Rosa is a broker in the residential and commercial real estate sector, also offering related services such as mortgage and insurance processing, as well as property management. It has 23 brokerage offices and branches, as well as 14 franchises.

In the second quarter of 2024, La Rosa’s revenue grew 154% year over year to $19.1 million. In the earnings report, the company guided for $100 million in annual revenue and to become profitable in 2025, provided that “all of our planned acquisitions are consummated before the end of 2024.” Future growth is expected to come from organic sales, paired with expansion both inside and outside of the U.S., as the company mentioned during the LD Micro conference in New York this spring.

Recall that the company announced in July that it had sold to an unnamed investor a promissory note for $468,000;  29,800 shares at market price (valued at $46,800 on July 16); and warrants worth $444,600. This led to a sharp decline in its share price.