Atlas Copco AB (OTCMKTS:ATLKY) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surge: Short interest jumped 1,255.2% from 20,938 to 283,744 shares as of March 31, though that still represents approximately 0.0% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover of just 0.4 based on average volume.
• Analyst and trading backdrop: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" (4 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell); Atlas Copco recently missed EPS by $0.01 while beating revenue, and the stock trades near $19.35 with a $94.33 billion market cap and a PE of 35.18.

Atlas Copco AB (OTCMKTS:ATLKY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 283,744 shares, an increase of 1,255.2% from the March 15th total of 20,938 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 778,570 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Atlas Copco Stock Down 0.2%

Atlas Copco stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 189,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,690. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.59 and its 200 day moving average is $18.52. The company has a market cap of $94.33 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.47. 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 52-week low of $14.89 and a 52-week high of $22.05.

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