Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Short Interest Up 80.8% in June

Key Points

• Short interest in Alto Ingredients surged 80.8% in June, reaching 4.12 million shares by June 30. About 5.6% of the company’s shares were sold short, with a short-interest ratio of 1.3 days.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.05 versus an expected loss and revenue of $224.68 million, above analyst estimates. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Hold” with a $10.00 target price.
• Insider and institutional buying remained notable, with Director Gilbert E. Nathan purchasing 20,000 shares in May. Hedge funds also increased positions, and institutions now hold 42.44% of the stock.

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 4,118,629 shares, an increase of 80.8% from the June 15th total of 2,277,827 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,185,952 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Alto Ingredients Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of ALTO stock opened at $5.16 on Friday. Alto Ingredients has a twelve month low of $0.92 and a twelve month high of $6.11. The stock has a market cap of $399.85 million, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.25 and a 200 day moving average of $4.21. The company has a current ratio of 3.81, a quick ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $224.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.65 million. Alto Ingredients had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 3.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alto Ingredients will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ALTO shares. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Alto Ingredients from $5.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Alto Ingredients from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alto Ingredients news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.61 per share, for a total transaction of $92,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 769,741 shares in the company, valued at $3,548,506.01. This represents a 2.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alto Ingredients

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Alto Ingredients by 67.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,790,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,665,000 after buying an additional 723,996 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,673,657 shares of the company's stock worth $8,100,000 after acquiring an additional 149,657 shares in the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 1,244,198 shares of the company's stock worth $3,583,000 after acquiring an additional 9,074 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,324,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 590.1% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,000,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,843,000 after acquiring an additional 855,703 shares during the period. 42.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alto Ingredients

Alto Ingredients, Inc NASDAQ: ALTO is a diversified producer of alcohol-based products and specialty ingredients for industrial, food, beverage and personal care applications. The company’s core offering centers on ethanol produced for fuel markets, as well as an expanding portfolio of natural and organic alcohols, glycerin and other ingredient solutions. Alto’s product lines serve a range of end markets, including renewable fuels, confectionery, flavorings, cosmetics and sanitizers.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Alto Ingredients operates a network of production facilities across the United States.

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