Paysign, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYS) Short Interest Up 36.7% in March

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 36.7% in March, rising to 2,289,773 shares as of March 31 (about 5.5% of shares short) and leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 1.2 days based on average volume.
• Quarterly results were mixed: Paysign reported $0.02 EPS (missing the $0.03 consensus) while revenue of $22.76 million topped estimates, with a net margin of 9.21% and ROE of 17.19%.
• Analyst sentiment and valuation: Shares traded at $5.80 (market cap $320.1M, PE 44.62) and the consensus view is a "Moderate Buy" with a $9.42 target (three Buys, one Hold).

Paysign, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,289,773 shares, a growth of 36.7% from the March 15th total of 1,675,040 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,854,543 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 5.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Paysign Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PAYS stock traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $5.80. 467,859 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,552,001. Paysign has a 52 week low of $2.03 and a 52 week high of $8.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.10 million, a PE ratio of 44.62 and a beta of 0.64. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $4.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.84.

Paysign (NASDAQ:PAYS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $22.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.54 million. Paysign had a net margin of 9.21% and a return on equity of 17.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paysign will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paysign

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAYS. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Paysign by 164.6% during the 4th quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,462,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,532,000 after purchasing an additional 909,825 shares in the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Paysign during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,646,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Paysign by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 622,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,916,000 after purchasing an additional 373,519 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Paysign by 2,943.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 385,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 373,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Paysign by 139.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 504,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 294,041 shares in the last quarter. 25.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Paysign from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Paysign in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Paysign in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their price target on Paysign from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $9.42.

Paysign Company Profile

Paysign, Inc NASDAQ: PAYS is a U.S.-based financial technology company specializing in prepaid payment solutions. Through its cloud-based platform, the company enables corporations, government agencies and payroll providers to issue and manage stored-value cards, digital wallets and disbursement programs. Paysign's offerings span gift and incentive cards, payroll and earned-wage access cards, government benefit distribution, tax refund solutions and health savings account disbursements.

The company's flagship Paysign Experience Platform provides configurable card programs with real-time transaction reporting, fraud monitoring and regulatory compliance tools.

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