Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) Short Interest Up 655.1% in March

Key Points

• Short interest surged 655.1% in March to 231,392 shares (up from 30,642 on March 15), but with an average daily volume of 778,908 the days-to-cover is just 0.3 days.
• Analysts have grown cautious—Zacks downgraded Japan Tob to a "hold" and the MarketBeat consensus is "Reduce" with an average target of $17.00, while the stock trades around $18.83 (PE 20.69).

Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 231,392 shares, a growth of 655.1% from the March 15th total of 30,642 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 778,908 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Zacks Research lowered shares of Japan Tob from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $17.00.

Japan Tob Stock Down 0.5%

OTCMKTS:JAPAY traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.83. 145,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,960. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.09. Japan Tob has a fifty-two week low of $13.76 and a fifty-two week high of $20.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $66.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.33.

Japan Tob Company Profile

Japan Tobacco Inc OTC: JAPAY is a Tokyo-based multinational company primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. The company's core activities include the development, production and distribution of cigarettes and other nicotine-delivery products for domestic and international markets. Japan Tobacco also pursues business activities beyond tobacco, including pharmaceutical and processed‑food operations through subsidiary units and strategic investments.

In its tobacco operations the company serves both the Japanese market and a broad international footprint through its global operating arm, Japan Tobacco International (JTI).

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