Short Interest in SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) Rises By 69.1%

Key Points

• SAP SE experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 69.1% from June to July, totaling 2,350,000 shares or 0.2% of the company's shares shorted.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.70, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.63, alongside a revenue increase of 8.9% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on SAP, with one downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold," while others have set a price target ranging from $281.67 to $330.00.

SAP SE (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,350,000 shares, anincreaseof69.1% from the June 30th total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of SAP by 91.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in SAP by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,271 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in SAP by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,893 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $12,038,000 after purchasing an additional 5,345 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in SAP by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,763 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of SAP by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 10,117 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,491,000 after buying an additional 2,422 shares in the last quarter.

SAP Price Performance

SAP traded down $3.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $292.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,159,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,380. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.27. SAP has a twelve month low of $205.51 and a twelve month high of $313.28. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $298.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The software maker reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $10.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.10 billion. SAP had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SAP will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on SAP shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of SAP in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of SAP from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of SAP in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded SAP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised SAP to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $281.67.

About SAP

SAP SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides applications, technology, and services worldwide. It offers SAP S/4HANA that provides software capabilities for finance, risk and project management, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and asset management, and research and development; SAP SuccessFactors solutions for human resources, including HR and payroll, talent and employee experience management, and people and workforce analytics; and spend management solutions that covers direct and indirect spend, travel and expense, and external workforce management.