Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,030,000 shares, a decrease of 16.0% from the February 28th total of 23,840,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 15.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Enphase Energy Trading Down 5.4 %

Shares of ENPH traded down $3.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.18. 891,049 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,946,330. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.70. Enphase Energy has a 52-week low of $51.63 and a 52-week high of $141.63. The firm has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.52 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 3.53.

Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.14. Enphase Energy had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 15.62%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Enphase Energy will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Enphase Energy from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Enphase Energy from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Enphase Energy from $54.00 to $44.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Enphase Energy from $112.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Enphase Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mandy Yang sold 1,319 shares of Enphase Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total value of $83,519.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 78,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,972,139.68. This trade represents a 1.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thurman J. Rodgers sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.26, for a total transaction of $6,126,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,881,760 shares in the company, valued at $115,276,617.60. This represents a 5.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych grew its position in shares of Enphase Energy by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 19,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Enphase Energy by 131.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,214,999 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,360,000 after buying an additional 1,258,778 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Enphase Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $5,324,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Enphase Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $584,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Enphase Energy by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 937,016 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,354,000 after buying an additional 56,676 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.12% of the company’s stock.

About Enphase Energy

Enphase Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells home energy solutions for the solar photovoltaic industry in the United States and internationally. The company offers semiconductor-based microinverter, which converts energy at the individual solar module level and combines with its proprietary networking and software technologies to provide energy monitoring and control.