Birkenstock Holding plc (NYSE:BIRK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Birkenstock Holding plc (NYSE:BIRK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,280,000 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the September 15th total of 4,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 9.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Birkenstock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (up from $63.00) on shares of Birkenstock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Birkenstock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Birkenstock from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Birkenstock from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.11.

Birkenstock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BIRK traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $51.77. 1,695,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,024,994. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.49. Birkenstock has a 52 week low of $35.83 and a 52 week high of $64.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.75.

Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.07). Birkenstock had a return on equity of 5.79% and a net margin of 6.26%. The company had revenue of $564.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $628.70 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Birkenstock will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Birkenstock by 33.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Birkenstock by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,230,000 after buying an additional 700,000 shares during the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC grew its position in Birkenstock by 800.0% in the second quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC now owns 900,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,969,000 after acquiring an additional 800,000 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Birkenstock by 142.1% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 367,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,005,000 after purchasing an additional 215,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Birkenstock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $774,000. 19.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Birkenstock

Birkenstock Holding plc manufactures and sells footwear products. It also offers sandals, shoes, closed-toe silhouettes, skincare products, and accessories. The company sells its products through e-commerce sites and a network of owned retail stores, as well as business-to-business channels. It operates in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Europe, APMA, and internationally.