Short Interest in Holley Inc. (NYSE:HLLY) Drops By 25.7%

Key Points

• Holley Inc. experienced a significant decline in short interest of 25.7%, falling to 1,390,000 shares as of August 15th.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Boston Partners and Franklin Resources Inc., have notably increased their holdings in Holley, indicating a strong investment interest.
• Several analysts have upgraded Holley's stock rating to "buy", with a consensus price target of $3.75, reflecting positive market sentiment.

Holley Inc. (NYSE:HLLY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,390,000 shares, a drop of 25.7% from the July 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 652,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Approximately 2.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 652,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David S. Lobel sold 14,000,000 shares of Holley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.63, for a total transaction of $36,820,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,754,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,365,213.42. This trade represents a 34.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Holley during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Holley during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Holley during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Holley by 994.4% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 15,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Holley during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. 39.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HLLY. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Holley from $2.25 to $3.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Holley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark raised shares of Holley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Holley from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $2.75 target price on shares of Holley in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $3.75.

Holley Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:HLLY traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,661,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,549. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $369.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.81 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $2.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.50. Holley has a twelve month low of $1.60 and a twelve month high of $4.09.

Holley (NYSE:HLLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $166.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.67 million. Holley had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 5.12%. On average, equities analysts expect that Holley will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

About Holley

Holley Inc operates as designer, manufacturer, and marketer of automotive aftermarket products for car and truck enthusiasts in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China. Its products span various automotive platforms and sells across multiple channels. The company's performance automotive products include carburetors, fuel pumps, fuel injection systems, nitrous oxide injection systems, superchargers, exhaust headers, mufflers, distributors, ignition components, engine tuners, automotive performance plumbing products; and exhaust products, as well as shifters, converters, transmission kits, transmissions, tuners, and automotive software.