China BAK Battery, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAT) Short Interest Up 96.2% in March

Key Points

• Short interest in China BAK Battery (NASDAQ:CBAT) surged by 96.2% in March to 240,925 shares, implying a short-interest ratio of about 2.1 days and roughly 0.3% of shares sold short.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of ($0.08) versus a consensus of ($0.03) and revenue of $58.8M versus $64.57M expected, with negative net margin and negative ROE.
• CBAT is a small-cap name (~$72.3M market cap) with low institutional ownership (~1.97%); analysts on average rate the stock Sell, and Weiss Ratings recently reaffirmed a sell rating.

China BAK Battery, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 240,925 shares, a growth of 96.2% from the March 15th total of 122,784 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 117,359 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

China BAK Battery Price Performance

China BAK Battery stock opened at $0.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.15 and a beta of 1.36. China BAK Battery has a fifty-two week low of $0.63 and a fifty-two week high of $1.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $0.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.91.

China BAK Battery (NASDAQ:CBAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The electronics maker reported ($0.08) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $58.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 million. China BAK Battery had a negative net margin of 4.80% and a negative return on equity of 8.11%. Analysts predict that China BAK Battery will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of China BAK Battery

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in China BAK Battery stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in China BAK Battery, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAT - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 355,536 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 28,411 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.40% of China BAK Battery worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of China BAK Battery in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, China BAK Battery currently has an average rating of "Sell".

About China BAK Battery

China BAK Battery Inc NASDAQ: CBAT is a China-based developer and manufacturer of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and related power solutions. The company's core product lines include small, medium and large format batteries, battery modules and pack assemblies designed for consumer electronics, electric vehicles, energy storage systems and other industrial applications. China BAK Battery offers polymer lithium-ion cells, prismatic and cylindrical cells, as well as integrated battery systems tailored to meet the performance requirements of its clients.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China BAK Battery has expanded its manufacturing footprint and research and development capabilities over the years to serve customers across Asia, Europe and North America.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.