Smc Corporation (OTCMKTS:SMCAY) Stock Short Interest Climbs 190.7%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 190.7% in September to 125,646 shares from 43,223 shares, although only about 0.0% of SMC’s shares are sold short and the short-interest ratio remains low at 0.2 days.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with SMC receiving an average “Buy” rating; Zacks Research upgraded the stock to “Strong Buy.”
• SMC’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, reporting EPS of $0.33 versus a $0.23 consensus and revenue of $1.70 billion versus the $1.54 billion estimate.

Smc Corporation (OTCMKTS:SMCAY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 125,646 shares, a growth of 190.7% from the August 31st total of 43,223 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 731,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SMCAY shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of SMC from a "buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of SMC from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SMC currently has an average rating of "Buy".

SMC Stock Up 3.4%

OTCMKTS SMCAY opened at $22.20 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $22.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.95. SMC has a 52 week low of $14.65 and a 52 week high of $27.77. The company has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.09.

SMC (OTCMKTS:SMCAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.10. SMC had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 21.94%.The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Research analysts anticipate that SMC will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

SMC Company Profile

SMC Corporation is a Japan-based manufacturer of pneumatic and automation equipment used in factory automation and industrial production systems. Its products help control the movement, pressure, flow and handling of air and other fluids in manufacturing processes.

The company's product portfolio includes pneumatic cylinders and actuators, control valves, air-preparation equipment, fittings, tubing, vacuum equipment, sensors and related automation components. SMC also offers electric actuators and equipment for specialized applications, including process control, cleanroom manufacturing and material handling.

Founded in 1959 as Sintered Metal Corporation, the company adopted the name SMC Corporation in 1985.

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