Jersey Mike's (NYSE:JMKE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged to 2,899,476 shares as of July 31, up from zero shares on July 15. Short interest represented approximately 0.7% of Jersey Mike’s outstanding shares, equivalent to 0.7 days of average trading volume.
• Analyst sentiment remained positive overall: Jersey Mike’s received a “Buy” rating and a $30 average price target, although Wall Street Zen raised its rating to “Hold.”
• Insiders made substantial purchases, with the CFO and COO buying 25,000 shares for $575,000 combined on July 31; insiders purchased 31,584 shares worth $726,432 over the past 90 days.

Jersey Mike's (NYSE:JMKE - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,899,476 shares, an increase of ∞ from the July 15th total of 0 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,955,637 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on JMKE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Jersey Mike's to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Melius Research began coverage on Jersey Mike's in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $30.00.

Jersey Mike's Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE JMKE traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.18. 1,486,502 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,257,688. Jersey Mike's has a fifty-two week low of $20.63 and a fifty-two week high of $24.99.

Insider Transactions at Jersey Mike's

In other news, CFO Michele Allen purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.00 per share, with a total value of $230,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,989. The trade was a 23,255.81% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Stacy Peterson acquired 15,000 shares of Jersey Mike's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.00 per share, for a total transaction of $345,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $345,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 31,584 shares of company stock worth $726,432.

About Jersey Mike's

We are Jersey Mike's: A high-growth franchisor of fast casual, submarine-style sandwich restaurants specializing in authentic, hand-crafted, craveable subs. Built over 70 years on one uncompromising belief – that a truly great sub sandwich can change your day and that a truly great brand changes its community – Jersey Mike's is now one of the largest and fastest-growing limited-service restaurant brands based on U.S. systemwide sales and unit growth, with 3,300 stores across all 50 states and two countries – nearly all of which are franchised.

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