Palladyne AI Corp. (NASDAQ:PDYN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Large drop in short interest: Short interest fell 18.9% in March to 6,154,483 shares (about 15.3% of shares sold short) with a days-to-cover of roughly 1.0, signaling reduced bearish positioning.
• Insider selling activity: CFO Trevor Thatcher and insider Stephen Sonne sold stock on March 12, and insiders have sold 27,396 shares in the last 90 days while owning 13.40% of the company.
• Recent performance and outlook: PDYN traded at $5.43 mid-session (market cap ~$252.2M); it beat Q earnings and revenue estimates (EPS -$0.16 vs -$0.18 est., revenue $1.66M vs $0.81M), and analysts show mixed views with a consensus price target of $8.

Palladyne AI Corp. (NASDAQ:PDYN - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,154,483 shares, a drop of 18.9% from the February 26th total of 7,585,236 shares. Approximately 15.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,301,606 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Palladyne AI Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PDYN traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,029,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,519,629. The company has a market cap of $252.21 million, a P/E ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 3.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $6.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.86. Palladyne AI has a fifty-two week low of $4.14 and a fifty-two week high of $13.00.

Palladyne AI (NASDAQ:PDYN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.81 million. Palladyne AI had a return on equity of 8.82% and a net margin of 191.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Trevor Thatcher sold 7,649 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.55, for a total transaction of $57,749.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 183,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,383,824.40. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Sonne sold 6,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.55, for a total value of $51,355.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 206,206 shares in the company, valued at $1,556,855.30. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,396 shares of company stock valued at $206,840. Company insiders own 13.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Palladyne AI during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Palladyne AI by 94.3% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new position in shares of Palladyne AI in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Palladyne AI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palladyne AI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Institutional investors own 26.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on PDYN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Palladyne AI from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Palladyne AI from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Palladyne AI from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.00.

About Palladyne AI

Palladyne AI Corp., a software company, focuses on delivering software that enhances the utility and functionality of third-party stationary and mobile robotic systems in the United States. Its Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Machine Learning (ML) software platform enables robots to observe, learn, reason, and act in structured and unstructured environments. The company's software platform enables robotic systems to perceive their environment and quickly adapt to changing circumstances by generalizing from their experience using dynamic real-time operations without extensive programming and with minimal robot training.

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