iRobot Co. (NASDAQ:IRBT – Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,450,000 shares, an increase of 12.4% from the August 31st total of 4,850,000 shares. Currently, 19.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered iRobot from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of iRobot in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.
iRobot Stock Up 5.7 %
Shares of NASDAQ:IRBT traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.56. 1,180,961 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,951,166. The stock has a market cap of $246.16 million, a P/E ratio of -1.10 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.91. iRobot has a 12-month low of $5.83 and a 12-month high of $42.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.
iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported ($1.96) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.77) by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $166.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.73 million. iRobot had a negative return on equity of 128.49% and a negative net margin of 25.29%. iRobot’s quarterly revenue was down 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.73) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that iRobot will post -4.43 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRBT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in iRobot in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,623,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in iRobot in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,277,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in iRobot in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $77,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in iRobot by 101.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 35,985 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 18,133 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of iRobot by 130.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 27,659 shares in the last quarter. 77.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About iRobot
iRobot Corporation designs, builds, and sells robots and home innovation products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and internationally. The company offers floor care products, including Roomba floor vacuuming robots; Roomba accessories and consumables, such as the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, replacement dirt disposal bags for the Clean Base, filters, brushes, and batteries; Braava family of automatic floor mopping robots; and Braava accessories and consumables, which include cleaning solution, washable and disposable mopping pads, replacement tanks, and batteries, as well as subscription services.