BBB Foods Inc. (NYSE:TBBB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• 22.8% increase in short interest: short interest rose to 5,240,432 shares as of March 31 (about 4.6% of shares short) with a days-to-cover of 9.2, signaling elevated bearish positioning.
• Quarterly earnings miss and weak profitability: BBB Foods reported ($0.49) EPS vs. ($0.27) expected, posted a negative net margin (-3.72%) and ROE (-70.8%), and revenue of $1.22B slightly below forecasts.
• Stock traded up 6.7% to $37.34, but analysts are mixed—consensus is a "Hold" with a $40 price target, while several institutional investors have recently built large positions.

BBB Foods Inc. (NYSE:TBBB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,240,432 shares, a growth of 22.8% from the March 15th total of 4,265,901 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 571,508 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.2 days.

BBB Foods Trading Up 6.7%

TBBB traded up $2.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 534,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 631,881. BBB Foods has a twelve month low of $23.81 and a twelve month high of $40.09. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $35.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.66. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of -28.29 and a beta of 0.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

BBB Foods (NYSE:TBBB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.49) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.22). BBB Foods had a negative net margin of 3.72% and a negative return on equity of 70.80%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. On average, analysts expect that BBB Foods will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TBBB shares. Morgan Stanley raised BBB Foods to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of BBB Foods in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on BBB Foods from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BBB Foods from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded BBB Foods from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Institutional Trading of BBB Foods

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TBBB. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of BBB Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $109,810,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of BBB Foods by 314.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,192,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,850,000 after buying an additional 1,663,338 shares during the period. 12 West Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of BBB Foods by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. 12 West Capital Management LP now owns 3,382,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,199,000 after buying an additional 963,712 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of BBB Foods by 228.1% during the 3rd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,183,125 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,897,000 after buying an additional 822,575 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BBB Foods by 296.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 778,613 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,998,000 after buying an additional 582,262 shares during the period. 8.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BBB Foods Company Profile

BBB Foods Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates a chain of grocery retail stores in Mexico. It offers household cleaning, personal hyenine, cosmetics and beauty, pharmacy, and general merchandise products, as well as jellies and desserts, foods and drinks, pet supplies, coffee, tea, chocolates, breads, dry and frozen foods, snacks and sweets, and toilet papers and napkins. The company also provides branded, private label, and spot products. It serves low-to-middle income households through online channels.

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