Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,950,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the August 15th total of 6,280,000 shares. Approximately 15.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Despegar.com from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Despegar.com in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Despegar.com from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Despegar.com Stock Performance

Despegar.com stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 538,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,598. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.82 and its 200 day moving average is $12.36. Despegar.com has a 1-year low of $6.09 and a 1-year high of $15.82.

Despegar.com (NYSE:DESP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $185.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.35 million. Despegar.com had a negative return on equity of 62.18% and a net margin of 3.30%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Despegar.com will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Despegar.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Despegar.com by 4.8% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 31,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Despegar.com in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Despegar.com in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Despegar.com in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Despegar.com by 2.1% in the first quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 232,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,782,000 after buying an additional 4,727 shares during the period. 67.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Despegar.com

Despegar.com, Corp., an online travel company, provides a range of travel and travel-related products to leisure and corporate travelers through its websites and mobile applications in Latin America and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Travel Business and Financial Services Business.