Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OESX) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Orion Energy Systems rose 52% to 168,300 shares as of September 15, representing about 4.3% of shares outstanding and 1.7 days to cover.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with two Buy ratings, one Hold and one Sell; the stock carries an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $36.50.
• Orion exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.47 in earnings per share versus a $0.07 consensus estimate and revenue of $25.74 million versus $23.56 million expected. Institutional investors own approximately 52.6% of the company.

Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OESX - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 168,300 shares, an increase of 52.0% from the August 31st total of 110,735 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 99,685 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on OESX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Orion Energy Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Orion Energy Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Orion Energy Systems from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Orion Energy Systems in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of Orion Energy Systems in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.50.

Orion Energy Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OESX opened at $29.68 on Thursday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $21.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.00. The stock has a market cap of $121.36 million, a PE ratio of -593.60 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.54. Orion Energy Systems has a one year low of $7.84 and a one year high of $31.65.

Orion Energy Systems (NASDAQ:OESX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The electronics maker reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.40. Orion Energy Systems had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 0.04%.The company had revenue of $25.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.56 million. On average, analysts forecast that Orion Energy Systems will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orion Energy Systems

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OESX. Tieton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Orion Energy Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,326,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Orion Energy Systems by 60.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,140 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 9,058 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Orion Energy Systems by 32.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 178,469 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 43,693 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Orion Energy Systems by 114.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,101 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 69,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its position in Orion Energy Systems by 29.0% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 525,552 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $4,593,000 after acquiring an additional 118,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.59% of the company's stock.

About Orion Energy Systems

Orion Energy Systems, Inc NASDAQ: OESX provides energy-efficiency solutions for commercial and industrial facilities. The company focuses on helping organizations reduce energy consumption, improve lighting quality and manage building operations through modern lighting and control technologies.

Its offerings include LED lighting fixtures and retrofit systems, connected lighting controls, and related energy-management solutions. Orion also provides design, engineering, installation and project-management services intended to support customers through the transition from traditional lighting systems to more efficient, digitally enabled infrastructure.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Orion serves customers primarily in the United States across sectors such as manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, retail and other large commercial facilities.

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