Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:LOMA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina experienced a 86.9% increase in short interest during August, reaching a total of 1,450,000 shares as of August 15th.
• Several institutional investors, including Balyasny Asset Management L.P. and Insigneo Advisory Services LLC, significantly increased their stakes in Loma Negra during the second quarter.
• Wall Street analysts hold a largely positive outlook on Loma Negra, with an average rating of "Buy" and a price target of $14.80, while some have set targets as high as $16.00.

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina S.A. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:LOMA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,450,000 shares, anincreaseof86.9% from the July 31st total of 776,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 397,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 397,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina by 35.3% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 24,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 6,463 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina by 5.1% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 31,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 141,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 49,567 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina by 89.6% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 11,031 shares during the period. Finally, Sagil Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina during the second quarter worth $2,771,000. 19.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LOMA shares. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.20 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $14.80.

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Stock Performance

Shares of LOMA traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 702,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 588,153. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.06. Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has a one year low of $6.98 and a one year high of $14.17. The stock's 50-day moving average is $10.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.14.

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Company Profile

Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cement and its derivatives in Argentina. The company operates through Cement, Masonry Cement and Lime; Concrete; Railroad; Aggregates; and Others segments. It offers masonry cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, concrete, and lime to wholesale distributors, concrete producers, industrial customers, and others for use in the construction.

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