ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) Short Interest Up 80.5% in March

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,580,000 shares, a growth of 80.5% from the March 15th total of 4,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 942,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on EXLS shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of ExlService from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised shares of ExlService from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of ExlService in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of ExlService in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of ExlService from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.00.

ExlService Price Performance

Shares of EXLS traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $30.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,170,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,276. ExlService has a one year low of $25.17 and a one year high of $35.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $30.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.97.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The business services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $414.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $408.56 million. ExlService had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 22.83%. As a group, equities analysts expect that ExlService will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ExlService

In related news, EVP Vikas Bhalla sold 23,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.51, for a total value of $748,677.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 127,046 shares in the company, valued at $4,003,219.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 9,259 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.59, for a total value of $292,491.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,601,391.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vikas Bhalla sold 23,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.51, for a total transaction of $748,677.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 127,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,003,219.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ExlService

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of ExlService by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 3,725,199 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $114,922,000 after buying an additional 606,215 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in ExlService by 398.8% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 386,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,823,000 after purchasing an additional 308,618 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in ExlService by 402.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,834,702 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $472,045,000 after purchasing an additional 13,487,495 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in ExlService by 422.5% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 57,775 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,627,000 after purchasing an additional 46,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in ExlService by 400.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,391,792 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $123,146,000 after purchasing an additional 3,513,403 shares during the last quarter. 92.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ExlService

ExlService Holdings, Inc operates as a data analytics, and digital operations and solutions company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Insurance, Healthcare, Analytics, and Emerging Business segments. It also provides digital operations and solutions and analytics-driven services, such as claims processing, premium and benefit administration, agency management, account reconciliation, policy research, underwriting support, new business acquisition, policy servicing, premium audit, surveys, billing and collection, commercial and residential survey, and customer service using digital technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced automation; digital customer acquisition services using a software-as-a-service delivery model through LifePRO and LISS platforms; subrogation services; and Subrosource software platform, an end-to-end subrogation platform.

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