StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) saw a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,460,000 shares, an increase of 58.7% from the August 31st total of 12,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

StoneCo Price Performance

STNE opened at $10.89 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 2.31. StoneCo has a 52 week low of $9.34 and a 52 week high of $19.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $615.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.74 million. StoneCo had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 15.27%. As a group, analysts anticipate that StoneCo will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STNE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of StoneCo from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of StoneCo from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of StoneCo from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on StoneCo from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $7.00 target price (down from $16.50) on shares of StoneCo in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Central Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in StoneCo in the second quarter worth $40,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in StoneCo by 152.1% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of StoneCo by 90.2% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 4,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invst LLC acquired a new position in shares of StoneCo in the 1st quarter valued at $172,000. 73.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About StoneCo

StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.