Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Wix.com experienced a 21.5% increase in short interest for August, reaching a total of 3,160,000 shares, with about 5.9% of its stock currently sold short.
• Institutional investors own 81.52% of Wix.com's stock, with significant increases in positions from firms like Ameriprise Financial and Lone Pine Capital in the second quarter.
• Wix.com reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.28, surpassing estimates, and announced a $200 million stock buyback program that reflects management's belief in the undervaluation of its shares.

Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,160,000 shares, a growth of 21.5% from the August 15th total of 2,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 5.9% of the company's shares are short sold. Approximately 5.9% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Wix.com Price Performance

NASDAQ:WIX traded up $2.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $183.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,939,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,020,907. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $144.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.05. Wix.com has a twelve month low of $114.89 and a twelve month high of $247.11. The stock has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.30.

Wix.com (NASDAQ:WIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The information services provider reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $489.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.62 million. Wix.com had a negative return on equity of 136.43% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm's revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Wix.com will post 3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wix.com announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down previously from $240.00) on shares of Wix.com in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Wix.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Wix.com from $250.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Scotiabank set a $255.00 price target on Wix.com and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Wix.com from $189.00 to $166.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wix.com

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WIX. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wix.com by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 30,746 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $6,597,000 after buying an additional 11,966 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wix.com by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 142,460 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $30,565,000 after buying an additional 8,422 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Wix.com by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,393 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $2,444,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wix.com in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wix.com by 68.0% in the fourth quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 106,187 shares of the information services provider's stock valued at $22,782,000 after buying an additional 42,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.52% of the company's stock.

About Wix.com

Wix.com Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cloud-based web development platform for registered users and creators worldwide. The company offers Wix Editor, a drag-and-drop visual development and website editing environment platform; and Wix ADI that enables users to have the freedom of customization that the classic editor offers.