Telos Corporation (NASDAQ:TLS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Telos Corporation experienced a 20.6% decrease in short interest in August, bringing the total to 1,730,000 shares, with a short-interest ratio of 1.2 days.
• Several analysts have upgraded Telos, with Wall Street Zen raising its rating from "hold" to "buy" and target prices varying from $4.00 to $6.00 across different firms.
• Insider sales have occurred, with directors selling over 537,544 shares in the last quarter, reflecting a notable decrease in their ownership stakes.

Telos Corporation (NASDAQ:TLS - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,730,000 shares, a decrease of 20.6% from the August 15th total of 2,180,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on TLS shares. Wedbush raised their price target on Telos from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $4.50 price target (up previously from $2.25) on shares of Telos in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Telos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Telos from $2.25 to $4.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Maluda sold 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.60, for a total value of $347,127.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 185,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,554.20. This represents a 22.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Fredrick Schaufeld sold 255,449 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.79, for a total value of $1,734,498.71. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,338,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,089,759.42. This represents a 16.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 537,544 shares of company stock worth $3,579,041 in the last quarter. 14.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Telos by 3.4% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 82,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Telos by 3.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 112,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 3,889 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Telos by 28.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 17,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Telos by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,512 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 5,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Telos by 7.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 131,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 8,957 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.14% of the company's stock.

Telos Price Performance

TLS stock traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $7.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,226,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,577. The company has a market capitalization of $519.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.29 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.39. Telos has a 1-year low of $1.83 and a 1-year high of $7.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.55.

Telos Company Profile

Telos Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides cyber, cloud, and enterprise security solutions worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Security Solutions and Secure Networks. It provides Xacta, a platform for enterprise cyber risk management and security compliance automation; and consulting, assessment and compliance, engineering and evaluation, operations, and penetration testing services.