iRobot Co. (NASDAQ:IRBT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

iRobot Co. (NASDAQ:IRBT) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,040,000 shares, an increase of 12.2% from the January 15th total of 3,600,000 shares. Currently, 14.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut iRobot from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of iRobot in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iRobot

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in iRobot by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,164,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,116,000 after purchasing an additional 14,075 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in iRobot by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,003,473 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,777,000 after buying an additional 295,997 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iRobot by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 840,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,517,000 after buying an additional 120,234 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of iRobot by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 701,173 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,435,000 after buying an additional 24,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of iRobot by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 655,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 160,343 shares in the last quarter. 77.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iRobot Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of IRBT stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $9.49. 2,645,116 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,855,786. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $290.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.10. iRobot has a 12-month low of $5.83 and a 12-month high of $14.51.

About iRobot

iRobot Corporation designs, builds, and sells robots and home innovation products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and internationally. The company offers floor care products, including Roomba floor vacuuming robots; Roomba accessories and consumables, such as the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, replacement dirt disposal bags for the Clean Base, filters, brushes, and batteries; Braava family of automatic floor mopping robots; and Braava accessories and consumables, which include cleaning solution, washable and disposable mopping pads, replacement tanks, and batteries, as well as subscription services.