Atlas Copco AB (OTCMKTS:ATLKY) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Atlas Copco experienced a dramatic 94.2% decline in short interest, dropping to 30,349 shares as of Feb. 27 from 525,347 on Feb. 12, yielding a short-interest ratio of 0.1 days and effectively 0.0% of shares sold short.
• Analyst coverage is mixed with a consensus "Hold" (four Buys, four Holds, one Sell), with recent notable moves including Goldman Sachs cutting to Neutral and Sanford C. Bernstein upgrading to Outperform.
• Shares rose about 1.4% to $19.36 on higher-than-average volume; the company has a market cap of $94.38 billion and a PE of 35.2, and it missed EPS by $0.01 for the quarter while beating revenue estimates.

Atlas Copco AB (OTCMKTS:ATLKY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 30,349 shares, a decline of 94.2% from the February 12th total of 525,347 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 343,211 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Approximately 0.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 343,211 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Atlas Copco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Atlas Copco in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Pareto Securities cut Atlas Copco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Atlas Copco from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Atlas Copco in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atlas Copco presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Atlas Copco Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of OTCMKTS:ATLKY traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.36. 240,226 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 216,569. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Atlas Copco has a 12 month low of $13.41 and a 12 month high of $22.05. The company has a market cap of $94.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.30.

Atlas Copco (OTCMKTS:ATLKY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Atlas Copco had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 24.94%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atlas Copco will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Atlas Copco

Atlas Copco is a Sweden-based industrial group that develops, manufactures and services equipment and solutions for professional customers in a broad range of industries. The company's core activities center on compressed air and gas systems, vacuum solutions, construction and mining equipment, industrial tools and assembly systems, and power and flow equipment. Products and services span new-equipment sales, aftermarket parts, maintenance and technical support aimed at improving productivity, energy efficiency and safety for industrial operations.

Key product categories include stationary and portable air compressors, air treatment and gas generation systems, industrial vacuum pumps, generators and light towers, drilling rigs and rock excavation equipment for mining and construction, as well as electric and pneumatic tools and automated assembly systems for manufacturing.

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