Short Interest in Ajinomoto Co. (OTCMKTS:AJINY) Grows By 271.4%

Key Points

• Ajinomoto Co. experienced a significant rise in short interest, increasing by 271.4% to a total of 15,600 shares as of August 31st.
• The stock has been upgraded by analysts, with ratings shifting to a "strong-buy" from CLSA and a "hold" from Nomura, leading to an average rating of "Buy".
• Ajinomoto reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.21, despite revenue falling short of analyst expectations at $2.47 billion.

Ajinomoto Co. (OTCMKTS:AJINY - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 15,600 shares, an increase of 271.4% from the August 15th total of 4,200 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 30,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 30,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Nomura Securities upgraded Ajinomoto to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. CLSA raised Ajinomoto to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Ajinomoto Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:AJINY traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.23. 5,920 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,076. Ajinomoto has a 12 month low of $16.50 and a 12 month high of $30.20. The firm has a market cap of $29.13 billion, a PE ratio of 48.72 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Ajinomoto (OTCMKTS:AJINY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.02. Ajinomoto had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 6.02%.The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion.

About Ajinomoto

Ajinomoto Co, Inc engages in the seasonings and foods, frozen foods, and healthcare and other businesses in Japan and internationally. The Seasonings and Foods segment offers sauces and seasoning products under the AJI-NO-MOTO, HON-DASHI, Cook Do, Ajinomoto KK Consommé, Pure Select Mayonnaise, Ros Dee, Masako, Aji-ngon, Sazón, Sajiku, and CRISPY FRY names; and solutions and ingredients for foodservice and processed food manufacturers, processed foods, and restaurants, as well as industrial, retail, and other applications.