Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest rose 19.2% in March to 55,563 shares, equal to about 0.8% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of 0.3 days.
• Shares traded at $11.25 (near the 52‑week high of $11.96) with a market cap of roughly $99.3M, but the company reported Q1 EPS of -$0.05 and shows negative net margin and return on equity.
• Market sentiment is weak with a consensus "Sell" rating, while institutional ownership remains modest at 13.61% despite several funds slightly increasing stakes.

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 55,563 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the March 15th total of 46,617 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 161,931 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Optical Cable Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCC traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $11.25. 137,675 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 176,705. Optical Cable has a fifty-two week low of $2.44 and a fifty-two week high of $11.96. The company's 50 day moving average is $7.78 and its 200-day moving average is $7.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.34 million, a PE ratio of -124.99 and a beta of 0.35.

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter. Optical Cable had a negative net margin of 1.01% and a negative return on equity of 4.14%. The company had revenue of $16.43 million for the quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Optical Cable in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Optical Cable has a consensus rating of "Sell".

Institutional Trading of Optical Cable

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Optical Cable by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,932 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 4,497 shares during the period. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Optical Cable by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,600 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Optical Cable by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 124,769 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 9,535 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Optical Cable by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,773 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Optical Cable during the 3rd quarter valued at $102,000. 13.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Optical Cable Company Profile

Optical Cable Corporation NASDAQ: OCC is a publicly traded designer and manufacturer of optical fiber and copper communications cable solutions. Headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, the company develops a broad range of standard and custom cable assemblies, connectors, hardware and accessories. Its product portfolio addresses data transmission requirements in demanding environments, including long-haul telecommunications, industrial automation, defense systems and submersible applications.

The company's offerings are organized across multiple product lines, encompassing outside-plant fiber optic cable for aerial and underground installations, indoor/outdoor copper connectivity and specialty engineered cable assemblies.

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