Volkswagen AG Unsponsored ADR (OTCMKTS:VWAGY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 37.0% in March to 351,249 shares (up from 256,295 on Feb. 26), with a days-to-cover ratio of about 0.7 based on average daily volume, indicating increased short activity despite quick coverability.
• Analysts give Volkswagen an average rating of "Moderate Buy" (one Strong Buy, one Buy, four Hold), with recent notes including HSBC and Citigroup reaffirming buys and Zacks upgrading VW from "strong sell" to "hold".
• Volkswagen beat recent quarter estimates, reporting EPS of $0.73 versus $0.59 expected and revenue of $99.97 billion versus $84.92 billion, while trading with a PE of 6.77 and a 12‑month range of $9.20–$12.83.

Volkswagen AG Unsponsored ADR (OTCMKTS:VWAGY - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 351,249 shares, an increase of 37.0% from the February 26th total of 256,295 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 514,122 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VWAGY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Volkswagen from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. HSBC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Volkswagen in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Volkswagen in a report on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Volkswagen Stock Performance

OTCMKTS VWAGY opened at $10.08 on Friday. Volkswagen has a twelve month low of $9.20 and a twelve month high of $12.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a PE ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.48.

Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VWAGY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $99.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.92 billion. Volkswagen had a return on equity of 3.46% and a net margin of 2.11%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Volkswagen will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Volkswagen Company Profile

Volkswagen AG is one of the world's largest integrated automakers, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Founded in 1937 to produce a mass-market "people's car," the company expanded through the post-war period into a global automotive group. Volkswagen's operations encompass the design, engineering, manufacture and distribution of a broad range of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, and the company's consolidated brand portfolio includes Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, Porsche, Škoda, SEAT, Bentley, Lamborghini and other marques operated across its group structure.

In addition to vehicle production, Volkswagen provides a range of automotive-related products and services, including powertrain technologies, component manufacturing, mobility services and vehicle financing and leasing through its Volkswagen Financial Services unit.

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