Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) Short Interest Up 23.4% in March

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,030,000 shares, a growth of 23.4% from the February 28th total of 12,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group Public

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VOD. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Vodafone Group Public by 341.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 4,146,322 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,206,506 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Vodafone Group Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $22,646,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vodafone Group Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,969,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 14,598,375 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $123,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 177.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,356,455 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145,085 shares in the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on VOD. StockNews.com downgraded Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Performance

VOD stock opened at $9.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $8.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.03. Vodafone Group Public has a 1-year low of $8.00 and a 1-year high of $10.39.

Vodafone Group Public Company Profile

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.