Shares of Irvine-based Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. rose on Friday after the mortgage investor said its loans packaged as bonds found buyers in the first quarter.
Impac said it completed two loan securitizations in the quarter for $2.2 billion.
The packages included Alt-A mortgages,in between the best quality loans and riskier subprime loans,and $235 million of commercial and apartment building loans.
Impac said it would end the quarter with $800 million of unsold loans, half of its year-end level, and about $130 million in cash.
It also has formed a division to buy defaulted loans from competing companies.
Shares closed up about 6.5% on Friday. The company has a market value of about $370 million.
The company “has greatly reduced its exposure to margin calls while creating opportunity to grow as market conditions improve,” Chief Executive Joseph Tomkinson said in a statement.
Margin calls are where investors in Impac mortgage bonds can push them back to the company if borrowers default on payments.
Impac also cut its quarterly dividend by 60%, citing the need to preserve cash.
