Formula Systems (1985) Ltd. (NASDAQ:FORTY) Short Interest Up 5,900.0% in April

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 5,900% in April to 120 shares as of April 15 (up from 2 shares on March 31) with a days-to-cover of 0.3, although this still represents effectively 0.0% of the company's stock sold short.
• Formula Systems reported quarterly EPS of $35.03 on $708.38 million in revenue with a 20.89% net margin, and shares traded up 4.1% to $141, valuing the company at about $2.16 billion (P/E 3.68).
• About 34.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, several funds recently increased or initiated positions, and analyst coverage is light with a consensus Hold rating.

Formula Systems (1985) Ltd. (NASDAQ:FORTY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 120 shares, a growth of 5,900.0% from the March 31st total of 2 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 409 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Formula Systems (1985) Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FORTY traded up $5.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.00. The company had a trading volume of 292 shares, compared to its average volume of 567. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.10. Formula Systems has a 52-week low of $85.30 and a 52-week high of $190.56.

Formula Systems (1985) (NASDAQ:FORTY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The technology company reported $35.03 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $708.38 million for the quarter. Formula Systems (1985) had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 3.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Formula Systems (1985) in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Formula Systems (1985) in the 3rd quarter valued at $398,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Formula Systems (1985) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,716 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in shares of Formula Systems (1985) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 7,015 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. 34.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Formula Systems (1985) in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Formula Systems (1985) presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Formula Systems (1985) Company Profile

Formula Systems (1985) Ltd is an Israeli publicly traded holding company specializing in the software and information technology sectors. Founded in 1985 and listed on NASDAQ under the ticker FORTY, the company focuses on acquiring, investing in and developing independent software firms. Its core mission is to foster innovation in enterprise software, cybersecurity and digital transformation solutions.

The company's principal activities center on holding controlling and significant equity stakes in several market-leading software enterprises.

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