Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Potbelly Co. (NASDAQ:PBPB) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 807,000 shares, an increase of 17.6% from the January 15th total of 686,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 181,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder David Nierenberg acquired 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.23 per share, for a total transaction of $70,148.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 101,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,441.54. This trade represents a 8.05 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Potbelly

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PBPB. Monimus Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Potbelly in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,901,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,332,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 758.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 195,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 172,969 shares during the period. Vantage Consulting Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Potbelly during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,553,000. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Potbelly by 21.7% during the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 902,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,527,000 after purchasing an additional 160,763 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.60% of the company’s stock.

Potbelly Price Performance

PBPB traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.39. The stock had a trading volume of 167,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,920. The company has a market cap of $370.96 million, a P/E ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.68 and a 200 day moving average of $9.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.49. Potbelly has a 1 year low of $6.28 and a 1 year high of $14.36.

About Potbelly

Potbelly Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises Potbelly sandwich shops in the United States. The company was formerly known as Potbelly Sandwich Works, Inc and changed its name to Potbelly Corporation in 2002. Potbelly Corporation was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.