Pyxis Tankers Inc. (NASDAQ:PXS) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 72.8% in September

Key Points

• Pyxis Tankers’ short interest jumped 72.8% to 37,843 shares as of September 15, though just 0.8% of outstanding shares were short and the days-to-cover ratio remained low at 0.2.
• Renaissance Technologies increased its stake by 38.2% to 119,001 shares, while institutional investors collectively owned 56.19% of Pyxis Tankers.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.27 in earnings per share and $12.13 million in revenue versus estimates of $0.20 and $10.34 million, respectively. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy.”

Pyxis Tankers Inc. (NASDAQ:PXS - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 37,843 shares, an increase of 72.8% from the August 31st total of 21,903 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 244,773 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Pyxis Tankers

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Pyxis Tankers stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Pyxis Tankers Inc. (NASDAQ:PXS - Free Report) by 38.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,001 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.16% of Pyxis Tankers worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 56.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pyxis Tankers Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PXS opened at $6.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $65.95 million, a PE ratio of 7.95 and a beta of -0.50. Pyxis Tankers has a 12-month low of $2.56 and a 12-month high of $8.30. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $5.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.84. The company has a quick ratio of 4.68, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Pyxis Tankers (NASDAQ:PXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 31st. The transportation company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.07. Pyxis Tankers had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm had revenue of $12.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.34 million.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PXS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pyxis Tankers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Pyxis Tankers from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners restated a "buy" rating on shares of Pyxis Tankers in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Pyxis Tankers Company Profile

Pyxis Tankers Inc is a maritime transportation company that owns and operates oceangoing vessels serving the international energy and dry-bulk shipping markets. Its activities primarily involve the transportation of refined petroleum products and other liquid bulk cargoes, along with dry-bulk commodities.

The company's fleet has included product tankers, which carry refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as dry-bulk vessels used to transport commodities.

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