Sono-Tek Corporation (NASDAQ:SOTK) Short Interest Up 136.1% in June

Key Points

• Short interest in Sono-Tek jumped 136.1% in June, rising to 10,665 shares as of June 30 from 4,517 shares two weeks earlier. Even so, only about 0.1% of the company’s shares are currently sold short.
• Analyst sentiment has improved slightly, with Wall Street Zen upgrading the stock to strong-buy and Weiss Ratings lifting it to buy. The stock now carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $8.50.
• Sono-Tek recently reported earnings in line with expectations, posting EPS of $0.05 on revenue of $5.66 million. The company’s shares were trading around $5.30, near their 50-day average and below the analyst target.

Sono-Tek Corporation (NASDAQ:SOTK - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 10,665 shares, an increase of 136.1% from the June 15th total of 4,517 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 43,560 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SOTK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Sono-Tek by 29.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,773 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sono-Tek by 28.2% during the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 15,410 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Sono-Tek during the fourth quarter valued at about $89,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Sono-Tek by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 62,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 24,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Sono-Tek by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 43,244 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on SOTK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sono-Tek to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sono-Tek from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $8.50.

Sono-Tek Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SOTK traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $5.30. The stock had a trading volume of 4,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,721. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.20 and a beta of -0.05. Sono-Tek has a 1-year low of $3.23 and a 1-year high of $6.24.

Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Sono-Tek had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 9.62%.The business had revenue of $5.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sono-Tek will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Sono-Tek Company Profile

Sono-Tek Corporation is a specialized equipment manufacturer that designs, develops and sells ultrasonic spray coating systems for precision fluid delivery. The company's core technology uses high-frequency ultrasonic vibrations to generate fine, uniform droplets that can be applied to a broad range of substrates with minimal waste and high accuracy. This method enables precise control over coating thickness, distribution and material usage, making it well suited to applications requiring micro-scale deposition and tight process tolerances.

The company's product portfolio includes bench-top research and development stations, pilot-scale units and full production systems.

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