Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BAER) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 35.1% to 1.19 million shares as of August 14, representing 2.5% of outstanding shares and just 0.5 days to cover.
• Bridger Aerospace shares traded near their 12-month low at $1.08, while the company reported a quarterly loss of $0.13 per share and revenue of $30.49 million—both worse than analyst expectations.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but centers on a “Hold” consensus, with an average price target of $3.67; meanwhile, a major shareholder sold 1.9 million shares, while a director purchased 100,000 shares.

Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BAER - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 1,192,630 shares, a decline of 35.1% from the July 30th total of 1,836,949 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,438,986 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Bridger Aerospace Group Stock Performance

Bridger Aerospace Group stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $1.08. The company had a trading volume of 592,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,985. Bridger Aerospace Group has a 12-month low of $1.07 and a 12-month high of $3.44. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $1.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.28 and a beta of 0.35.

Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $30.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.04 million. Bridger Aerospace Group had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a negative net margin of 10.77%. As a group, research analysts expect that Bridger Aerospace Group will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BAER shares. Wall Street Zen raised Bridger Aerospace Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Bridger Aerospace Group in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Bridger Aerospace Group from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $3.00 target price on Bridger Aerospace Group in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Bridger Aerospace Group from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone II sold 1,900,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.70, for a total transaction of $3,230,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 58,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,948.50. This trade represents a 97.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey E. Kelter bought 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.20 per share, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 677,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $813,360. The trade was a 17.31% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 16.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAER. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its position in Bridger Aerospace Group by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 5,513,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,671,375 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Bridger Aerospace Group by 530.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 965,091 shares of the company's stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 811,899 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bridger Aerospace Group by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 809,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 59,482 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Bridger Aerospace Group by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 332,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 110,788 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Bridger Aerospace Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $560,000. 48.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bridger Aerospace Group Company Profile

Bridger Aerospace Group, Inc operates as an aerial services company specializing in wildfire management and aviation support. The company's core business activities include aerial wildfire suppression, providing rapid-response water and fire-retardant drops from fixed-wing air tankers. In addition to firefighting, Bridger Aerospace offers aviation services such as cloud seeding for weather modification, aerial inspection and mapping, environmental monitoring, and logistics support for remote sites.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Heber City, Utah, Bridger Aerospace Group deploys a fleet of both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft under contract to federal, state and local government agencies as well as commercial customers.

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