Short Interest in Insulet Co. (NASDAQ:PODD) Increases By 32.9%

Insulet Co. (NASDAQ:PODD) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,870,000 shares, an increase of 32.9% from the February 13th total of 2,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 652,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Benjamin sold 12,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $3,470,320.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,187,240. The trade was a 52.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Insulet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Insulet by 633.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 154 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Insulet in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Insulet in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Insulet by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Insulet by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 228 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period.

Insulet Price Performance

PODD stock traded up $6.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $261.66. 301,256 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 689,037. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.24, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.32. Insulet has a 1-year low of $160.19 and a 1-year high of $289.46.

Insulet (NASDAQ:PODD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.15. Insulet had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 20.19%. The business had revenue of $597.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $582.02 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Insulet will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Insulet from $304.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $328.00 price objective (up previously from $294.00) on shares of Insulet in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Insulet from $264.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Insulet from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Insulet from $305.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Insulet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.06.

Insulet Company Profile

Insulet Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells insulin delivery systems for people with insulin-dependent diabetes. The company's Omnipod platform includes the Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery System (Omnipod 5) which includes a proprietary AID algorithm embedded in the Pod that integrates with a third-party continuous glucose monitor to obtain glucose values through wireless bluetooth communication; Omnipod DASH that features a bluetooth enabled Pod that is controlled by a smartphone-like Personal Diabetes Manager with a color touch screen user interface; and Omnipod GO, a standalone, wearable, insulin delivery system that provides a fixed rate of continuous rapid-acting insulin for 72 hours.