Short Interest in The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) Drops By 22.4%

The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,670,000 shares, a drop of 22.4% from the February 13th total of 4,730,000 shares. Approximately 9.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 578,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Insider Activity at Vita Coco

In related news, Chairman Michael Kirban sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.57, for a total value of $691,400.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 2,006,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,355,336.53. This represents a 0.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ira Liran sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.58, for a total transaction of $1,067,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 853,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,375,677.82. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 107,410 shares of company stock valued at $3,875,211 in the last three months. 34.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Vita Coco by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,828,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,414,000 after buying an additional 427,871 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vita Coco by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,589,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,565,000 after buying an additional 11,712 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Vita Coco by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,502,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,460,000 after buying an additional 185,692 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Vita Coco by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,421,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,486,000 after acquiring an additional 193,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Vita Coco by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,130,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,713,000 after acquiring an additional 64,011 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.49% of the company’s stock.

Vita Coco Trading Down 0.1 %

COCO stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.60. The stock had a trading volume of 29,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,914. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.54. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.34. Vita Coco has a 52-week low of $23.00 and a 52-week high of $40.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens cut shares of Vita Coco from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Vita Coco from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Vita Coco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Vita Coco from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.14.

About Vita Coco

The Vita Coco Company, Inc develops, markets, and distributes coconut water products under the Vita Coco brand name in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers coconut oil and coconut milk; juice; Runa, a plant-based energy drink; packaged water under the Ever & Ever brand name; and PWR LIFT, a protein-infused fitness drink.