Haemonetics Co. (NYSE:HAE) Short Interest Up 5.6% in January

Haemonetics Co. (NYSE:HAE) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,240,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the January 15th total of 4,960,000 shares. Currently, 10.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 781,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days.

Haemonetics Price Performance

Haemonetics stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $62.47. 1,333,274 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 959,630. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 3.97. Haemonetics has a one year low of $58.80 and a one year high of $97.97. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.22.

Haemonetics (NYSE:HAE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.01). Haemonetics had a return on equity of 23.66% and a net margin of 9.47%. On average, equities analysts predict that Haemonetics will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HAE shares. Barrington Research lowered their price objective on Haemonetics from $108.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Haemonetics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. JMP Securities cut their price objective on shares of Haemonetics from $125.00 to $100.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Haemonetics in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Haemonetics from $112.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Haemonetics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HAE. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Haemonetics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Haemonetics by 146.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in Haemonetics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Haemonetics by 124.2% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Haemonetics by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,176 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

About Haemonetics

Haemonetics Corporation, a healthcare company, provides suite of medical products and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers automated plasma collection systems, donor management software, and supporting software solutions including NexSys PCS and PCS2 plasmapheresis equipment and related disposables and solutions, as well as integrated information technology platforms for plasma customers to manage their donors, operations, and supply chain; and NexLynk DMS donor management system and Donor360 app.