Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 109.9% to 1,499,882 shares as of March 13, representing roughly 2.0% of shares short and a days-to-cover ratio of just 0.3 days.
• Research firms have moved more bullish, with Wall Street Zen and Zacks upgrading ALTO to strong-buy and Weiss improving to a hold, leaving the stock with an average rating of "Buy."
• Alto reported an EPS beat of $0.19 vs. $0.02 consensus for the quarter while revenue slightly missed, and analysts still forecast a -$0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,499,882 shares, an increase of 109.9% from the February 26th total of 714,667 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,809,710 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ALTO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Alto Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy".

Alto Ingredients Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of ALTO opened at $4.38 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.30. Alto Ingredients has a one year low of $0.76 and a one year high of $4.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 0.60.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.17. Alto Ingredients had a net margin of 1.45% and a return on equity of 2.99%. The company had revenue of $231.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $234.83 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Alto Ingredients will post -0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peapod Lane Capital LLC raised its holdings in Alto Ingredients by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 1,244,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,583,000 after acquiring an additional 9,074 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in shares of Alto Ingredients by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 52,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 13,431 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

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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