Short Interest in 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) Declines By 30.3%

2U, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWOU) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 274,600 shares, a drop of 30.3% from the June 30th total of 393,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 84,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 10.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of 2U

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TWOU. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of 2U by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,331,482 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 438,007 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in 2U in the fourth quarter worth approximately $399,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 2U by 76.1% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 627,394 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 271,133 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in 2U by 232.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 361,725 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 252,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of 2U during the first quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 80.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on TWOU. StockNews.com began coverage on 2U in a research report on Friday, June 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of 2U in a research report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 2U currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.00.

2U Stock Performance

2U stock opened at $1.25 on Friday. 2U has a 12-month low of $1.05 and a 12-month high of $144.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.81.

2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The software maker reported ($8.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($11.10) by $3.00. 2U had a negative return on equity of 10.90% and a negative net margin of 35.13%. The firm had revenue of $198.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.32 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that 2U will post -9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

About 2U

2U, Inc operates as an online education platform company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Degree Program and Alternative Credential. The Degree Program segment provides the technology and services to nonprofit colleges and universities to enable the online delivery of degree programs.