Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) saw a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,150,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the August 31st total of 6,780,000 shares. Approximately 34.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Groupon

In other Groupon news, Director Jason Harinstein purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.61 per share, for a total transaction of $159,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 55,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $590,531.38. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Jason Harinstein purchased 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.61 per share, for a total transaction of $159,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 55,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $590,531.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert J. Bass sold 4,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.35, for a total value of $52,017.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 104,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,696.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 35.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new stake in Groupon during the 1st quarter worth $151,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Groupon in the first quarter valued at about $153,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Groupon during the first quarter valued at about $309,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Groupon by 1,848.8% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 22,879 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 21,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Groupon in the first quarter valued at approximately $437,000. 90.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Northland Capmk raised Groupon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Roth Mkm cut their price target on shares of Groupon from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Northland Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Groupon from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Groupon currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.83.

Groupon Price Performance

NASDAQ GRPN traded down $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.47. 1,391,871 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,247,164. The company has a market cap of $374.45 million, a PE ratio of -7.31 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. Groupon has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $19.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $12.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.46.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The coupon company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $124.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.30) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Groupon will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Groupon Company Profile

Groupon, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a marketplace that connects consumers to merchants. It operates in two segments, North America and International. The company sells goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. It serves customers through its mobile applications and websites.