Short Interest in JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited (NYSE:JKS) Decreases By 21.5%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 21.5% in March to 1,740,216 shares (about 4.2% of shares outstanding), with a short-interest ratio of 3.3 days based on average daily volume.
• JinkoSolar reported a slight EPS beat for the quarter (‑$2.29 vs. consensus ‑$2.35) but remains unprofitable with negative margins and a market cap near $1.11 billion while trading around $21.41.
• Analyst sentiment is skewed negative with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a $24.50 price target (one Buy, three Hold, three Sell), amid several recent downgrades and at least one upgrade.

JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited (NYSE:JKS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,740,216 shares, a decline of 21.5% from the March 15th total of 2,217,388 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 524,653 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Institutional Trading of JinkoSolar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in JinkoSolar during the third quarter worth about $1,162,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of JinkoSolar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,009,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of JinkoSolar by 189.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 194,231 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,013,000 after acquiring an additional 127,234 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of JinkoSolar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $252,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of JinkoSolar by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 18,650 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.82% of the company's stock.

JinkoSolar Price Performance

Shares of JKS traded down $2.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $21.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,846,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 663,560. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. JinkoSolar has a 1-year low of $15.55 and a 1-year high of $31.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.81.

JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported ($2.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.35) by $0.06. JinkoSolar had a negative return on equity of 8.96% and a negative net margin of 4.98%. Analysts predict that JinkoSolar will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on JKS shares. Daiwa Securities Group raised JinkoSolar from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $28.50 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of JinkoSolar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of JinkoSolar from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of JinkoSolar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $24.50.

About JinkoSolar

JinkoSolar Holding Co, Ltd. NYSE: JKS is a vertically integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer headquartered in Shanghai, China. The company specializes in the design, development and production of high-performance solar modules, silicon wafers, solar cells and related components. Since its founding in 2006, JinkoSolar has become one of the world's largest solar module suppliers, known for delivering reliable products to utility, commercial and residential customers.

JinkoSolar's product portfolio encompasses a broad range of monocrystalline and polycrystalline PV modules, including half-cell, bifacial and high-efficiency Tiger module series.

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