Short Interest in Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NYSE:PHG) Rises By 47.8%

Key Points

• Short interest in Koninklijke Philips N.V. rose by 47.8% in August, totaling 3,650,000 shares, indicating a significant increase in bearish sentiment among investors.
• Wall Street Zen downgraded Koninklijke Philips from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, affecting overall market perception, despite one analyst still rating it a Strong Buy.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Koninklijke Philips, with some showing growth rates over 700% in their positions, indicating renewed investor interest.

Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NYSE:PHG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,650,000 shares, agrowthof47.8% from the July 31st total of 2,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Koninklijke Philips from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PHG. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Koninklijke Philips by 724.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,409 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips during the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 2,935.4% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,973 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 39.1% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Koninklijke Philips by 167.7% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,380 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.67% of the company's stock.

Koninklijke Philips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PHG traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.93. The company had a trading volume of 609,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 674,360. Koninklijke Philips has a one year low of $21.48 and a one year high of $32.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $26.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.00. The firm has a market cap of $26.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.97, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.81.

Koninklijke Philips (NYSE:PHG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.12. Koninklijke Philips had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 1.00%.The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.35 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Koninklijke Philips will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Koninklijke Philips Company Profile

Koninklijke Philips N.V. operates as a health technology company in North America, the Greater China, and internationally. The company operates through Diagnosis & Treatment Businesses, Connected Care Businesses, and Personal Health Businesses segments. It also provides diagnostic imaging solutions, includes magnetic resonance imaging, X-ray systems, and computed tomography (CT) systems and software comprising detector-based spectral CT solutions, as well as molecular and hybrid imaging solutions for nuclear medicine; echography solutions focused on diagnosis, treatment planning and guidance for cardiology, general imaging, obstetrics/gynecology, and point-of-care applications; integrated interventional systems, and interventional diagnostic and therapeutic devices to treat coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease.

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