The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,240,000 shares, an increase of 27.3% from the October 15th total of 1,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on COO. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Cooper Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Cooper Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Cooper Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Cooper Companies from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Cooper Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Cooper Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of COO traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.47. 684,274 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,123,476. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $106.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.87. Cooper Companies has a twelve month low of $82.21 and a twelve month high of $112.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99.

Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The medical device company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.05. Cooper Companies had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cooper Companies will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cooper Companies

In other Cooper Companies news, COO Daniel G. Mcbride sold 114,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.48, for a total value of $12,129,356.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 44,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,714,534.08. This trade represents a 72.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Agostino Ricupati sold 1,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.03, for a total value of $172,956.03. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,488.54. This represents a 24.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 256,373 shares of company stock worth $27,637,427. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cooper Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cooper Companies by 303.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,099,975 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $2,343,723,000 after buying an additional 17,367,502 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Cooper Companies by 301.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,654,023 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $573,657,000 after purchasing an additional 4,246,519 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Cooper Companies by 279.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,437,064 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $348,723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,186 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cooper Companies by 305.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,000,910 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $203,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507,049 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Cooper Companies during the 1st quarter worth $139,246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.39% of the company’s stock.

Cooper Companies Company Profile

The Cooper Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets contact lens wearers. The company operates in two segments, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. The CooperVision segment provides spherical lense, including lenses that correct near and farsightedness; and toric and multifocal lenses comprising lenses correcting vision challenges, such as astigmatism, presbyopia, and myopia in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.