Short Interest in WidePoint Corporation (NYSEAMERICAN:WYY) Increases By 35.7%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 35.7% to 16,095 shares as of March 31, representing about 0.2% of shares sold short and a short-interest ratio of just 0.4 days based on average volume.
• The stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target of $8.67, though analyst views are mixed (HC Wainwright reiterated a Buy with a $9 target while Zacks cut to a Strong Sell).
• WidePoint reported a quarterly EPS miss (loss of $0.09 vs. -$0.01 expected) but revenue beat at $42.32M; the company has negative ROE and net margin, a market cap of ~$51.1M, and trades near $5.18.

WidePoint Corporation (NYSEAMERICAN:WYY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 16,095 shares, an increase of 35.7% from the March 15th total of 11,865 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 41,148 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WYY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of WidePoint in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research cut WidePoint from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $8.67.

Institutional Trading of WidePoint

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in WidePoint by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 85,777 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,675 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of WidePoint by 87.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 60,527 shares of the technology company's stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 28,269 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WidePoint by 194.5% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 46,028 shares of the technology company's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 30,397 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of WidePoint by 98.6% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,751 shares of the technology company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 26,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in WidePoint by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 132,098 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 3,898 shares during the period. 22.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WidePoint Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WYY traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.18. 2,577 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,600. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.84 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $4.86 and a 200 day moving average of $5.79. WidePoint has a one year low of $2.70 and a one year high of $7.55.

WidePoint (NYSEAMERICAN:WYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 25th. The technology company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $42.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.28 million. WidePoint had a negative return on equity of 22.35% and a negative net margin of 1.83%. As a group, analysts anticipate that WidePoint will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About WidePoint

WidePoint Corporation (NYSE American: WYY) is a provider of secure mobility management and identity management solutions. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, the company delivers a range of managed services designed to help organizations control and secure their telecommunications and IT environments. Since its inception in the late 1990s, WidePoint has focused on helping businesses and government agencies optimize their mobile device portfolios and ensure regulatory compliance.

WidePoint's core offerings include mobile device management, telecom expense management, and unified endpoint security.

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