Fonar Corporation (NASDAQ:FONR) Short Interest Down 41.5% in April

Key Points

• The short interest in Fonar fell 41.5% in April to 41,536 shares, equal to about 0.7% of the float and a short‑interest ratio of roughly 1.0 days.
• Institutional investors now own about 50.64% of the company, with Virtu Financial and Marshall Wace initiating positions and Empowered Funds and RBF Capital increasing their stakes.
• Shares traded at $18.86 (near the one‑year high of $18.87) with a market cap of ~$116.4M and a P/E of 16.7; Fonar reported Q4 EPS of $0.31 on $18.25M revenue and Weiss Ratings has a "Hold" rating.

Fonar Corporation (NASDAQ:FONR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 41,536 shares, a decline of 41.5% from the March 31st total of 70,961 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 40,662 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Fonar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Fonar in the fourth quarter valued at about $780,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Fonar by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,765 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares during the period. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Fonar in the fourth quarter valued at about $150,000. RBF Capital LLC increased its stake in Fonar by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. RBF Capital LLC now owns 75,447 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Fonar in the fourth quarter valued at about $523,000. Institutional investors own 50.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Fonar in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Fonar currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Fonar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FONR traded up $0.03 on Monday, hitting $18.86. 91,365 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 68,669. The company's 50 day moving average price is $18.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.08. Fonar has a one year low of $12.00 and a one year high of $18.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.99.

Fonar (NASDAQ:FONR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fonar had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 4.69%. The company had revenue of $18.25 million for the quarter.

Fonar Company Profile

Fonar Corporation is a medical technology company primarily engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. The company's flagship product, the UPRIGHT® Multi-Position™ MRI, enables patients to be scanned in standing, seated and traditional recumbent positions, offering enhanced diagnostic capabilities for musculoskeletal, neurological and vascular conditions. In addition to MRI equipment sales, Fonar provides equipment installation, training and maintenance services to hospitals, imaging centers and private practices.

Headquartered in Melville, New York, Fonar markets its MRI systems both domestically and internationally, supported by a network of service engineers and customer support personnel.

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