Leslie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Short Interest Update

Leslie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,520,000 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the March 31st total of 16,050,000 shares. Approximately 10.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Leslie's

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Leslie's by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 50,527,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,677,000 after buying an additional 3,975,268 shares during the last quarter. Lind Value II ApS lifted its stake in shares of Leslie's by 97.7% in the 1st quarter. Lind Value II ApS now owns 9,092,401 shares of the company's stock worth $6,687,000 after acquiring an additional 4,492,185 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Leslie's by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 5,702,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 709,664 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Leslie's by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,226,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,428,000 after buying an additional 91,898 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Leslie's by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,436,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,662,000 after buying an additional 2,655,795 shares in the last quarter.

Leslie's Stock Up 7.8 %

Shares of LESL traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $0.71. The company had a trading volume of 203,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,500,349. Leslie's has a 1-year low of $0.51 and a 1-year high of $6.02. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $0.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.76. The stock has a market cap of $130.59 million, a PE ratio of -4.74 and a beta of 1.32.

Leslie's (NASDAQ:LESL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). Leslie's had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a negative net margin of 2.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Leslie's from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $3.00 target price on shares of Leslie's in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Leslie's in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Leslie's from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Leslie's from $3.00 to $1.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.65.

About Leslie's

Leslie's, Inc operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products.