iRobot Co. (NASDAQ:IRBT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

iRobot Co. (NASDAQ:IRBT - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, a growth of 26.6% from the March 31st total of 5,000,000 shares. Approximately 22.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iRobot

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of iRobot by 2,712.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 400,427 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,480,000 after buying an additional 386,189 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iRobot by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,003,473 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,777,000 after purchasing an additional 295,997 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in iRobot by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 575,176 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,458,000 after buying an additional 177,876 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in iRobot by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 655,881 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,083,000 after buying an additional 160,343 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of iRobot by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 840,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,517,000 after acquiring an additional 120,234 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.42% of the company's stock.

iRobot Stock Performance

IRBT traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,192,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,816. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.17 million, a P/E ratio of -0.55 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.45. iRobot has a twelve month low of $1.76 and a twelve month high of $14.51. The company's 50-day moving average price is $3.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on IRBT shares. StockNews.com lowered iRobot from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of iRobot in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

iRobot Company Profile

iRobot Corporation designs, builds, and sells robots and home innovation products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and internationally. The company offers floor care products, including Roomba floor vacuuming robots; Roomba accessories and consumables, such as the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, replacement dirt disposal bags for the Clean Base, filters, brushes, and batteries; Braava family of automatic floor mopping robots; and Braava accessories and consumables, which include cleaning solution, washable and disposable mopping pads, replacement tanks, and batteries, as well as subscription services.

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