Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 19.4% to 607,385 shares as of March 31, implying a days-to-cover of 3.7 and roughly 3.0% of the company's stock is currently shorted.
• Mettler-Toledo carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $1,459.58, after mixed analyst actions including upgrades from Jefferies and Wall Street Zen and reduced targets from Barclays and Morgan Stanley.
• Large institutional buying continued (notably a new ~$521M stake from Norges Bank and increases by Capital International and M&T), while the company reported an EPS beat of $13.36 and $1.13B revenue (+8.1% YoY); market cap is about $27.1B with a P/E of 31.8.

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 607,385 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the March 15th total of 508,607 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 164,137 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MTD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $1,400.00 to $1,450.00 in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,550.00 to $1,475.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mettler-Toledo International has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,459.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,410.12, for a total value of $1,128,096.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,288 shares in the company, valued at $7,456,714.56. This represents a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mettler-Toledo International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the fourth quarter worth about $520,989,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 2,813.6% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 124,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $173,165,000 after buying an additional 119,942 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 969,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,351,064,000 after buying an additional 109,508 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International in the third quarter worth about $121,021,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 10.7% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 793,927 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $974,633,000 after buying an additional 76,478 shares in the last quarter. 95.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mettler-Toledo International Price Performance

NYSE:MTD traded up $48.71 on Friday, reaching $1,339.55. 115,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 144,190. The firm has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.43. Mettler-Toledo International has a 52 week low of $962.54 and a 52 week high of $1,525.17. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,296.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,367.97.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $13.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $12.76 by $0.60. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 21.59% and a negative return on equity of 495.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $12.41 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International will post 42.71 EPS for the current year.

Mettler-Toledo International Company Profile

Mettler-Toledo International Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of precision instruments and services for laboratory, industrial and food retail applications. The company's product portfolio includes laboratory balances and analytical instruments, industrial weighing systems, process analytics and sensors, metal detection and x-ray inspection equipment, checkweighers, and a range of automated inspection and data-management solutions. Mettler-Toledo also provides software, calibration and lifecycle services intended to support compliance, quality control and operational efficiency across customer facilities.

The company serves a broad set of end markets including pharmaceutical and biotech laboratories, chemical and food processors, logistics and manufacturing operations, and retail environments where accurate weighing and inspection are critical.

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