GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Short Interest Down 23.3% in March

Key Points

• Short interest fell 23.3% in March to 870,378 shares (about 3.4% of shares short) with a days-to-cover of 2.9, indicating reduced bearish positioning.
• Large managers — including Ameriprise, Marshall Wace and Jane Street — materially **increased stakes**, and institutional ownership stands at about 92.83% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is negative (average rating: "Reduce", average target $11.75), and fundamentals are weak after a Q4 EPS miss (‑$2.45 vs. ‑$1.27 estimate); shares trade near $7.52 with a market cap around $195M.

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 870,378 shares, a decline of 23.3% from the March 15th total of 1,135,181 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 298,033 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of GrafTech International by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,673,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,518,000 after purchasing an additional 546,177 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in GrafTech International by 132.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,782,531 shares of the company's stock worth $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587,052 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in GrafTech International by 357.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,678,655 shares of the company's stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311,797 shares during the period. Sender Co & Partners Inc. raised its holdings in GrafTech International by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. now owns 1,286,455 shares of the company's stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 808,615 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in GrafTech International by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,122,722 shares of the company's stock worth $17,413,000 after purchasing an additional 236,738 shares during the period. 92.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on EAF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded GrafTech International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on GrafTech International from $21.00 to $10.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $11.75.

GrafTech International Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:EAF opened at $7.52 on Wednesday. GrafTech International has a 12-month low of $4.92 and a 12-month high of $20.32. The company has a market capitalization of $195.44 million, a PE ratio of -0.88 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.57.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported ($2.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.27) by ($1.18). The business had revenue of $116.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.00 million. Equities research analysts predict that GrafTech International will post -0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GrafTech International Company Profile

GrafTech International NYSE: EAF is a leading global manufacturer of graphite electrodes and other specialty graphite products used primarily in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) for steel production. The company's core offerings include ultrahigh-power, high-power and regular power electrodes, along with related accessories such as graphite shapes and heterogeneous carbon materials. These products play a critical role in steelmaking by conducting the high electrical currents required to melt scrap steel efficiently and with reduced environmental impact compared to traditional blast furnace methods.

With a manufacturing footprint spanning North America, Europe and Asia, GrafTech serves steel producers and foundries worldwide.

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