Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) rose by 26.7% in August, reaching a total of 3,040,000 shares.
• Garmin reported $2.17 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.27 with revenue of $1.81 billion, which was up 20.4% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Garmin, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $223.75, influenced by recent upgrades and downgrades from major firms.

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,040,000 shares, a growth of 26.7% from the August 15th total of 2,400,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 875,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 875,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GRMN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Garmin from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $167.00 price target (up from $152.00) on shares of Garmin in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Garmin from $186.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Garmin has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $223.75.

Insider Activity at Garmin

In other news, insider Cheng-Wei Wang sold 10,202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.48, for a total value of $2,371,760.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,390,668.16. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $399,685.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 29,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,266,390. The trade was a 6.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Garmin by 200.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth $33,000. TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Garmin by 1,633.3% in the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 156 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Garmin in the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 81.60% of the company's stock.

Garmin Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE GRMN traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $234.97. The company had a trading volume of 162,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,908. Garmin has a fifty-two week low of $160.94 and a fifty-two week high of $246.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.80. The firm has a market cap of $45.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.00.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.27. Garmin had a return on equity of 20.00% and a net margin of 23.21%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Garmin has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.000-8.000 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Garmin will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Garmin Company Profile

Garmin Ltd. designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes a range of wireless devices worldwide. Its Fitness segment offers running and multi-sport watches; cycling products; smartwatch devices; scales and monitors; and fitness accessories. This segment also provides Garmin Connect and Garmin Connect Mobile, which are web and mobile platforms where users can track and analyze their fitness, activities and workouts, and wellness data; and Connect IQ, an application development platform.