StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) Short Interest Down 18.5% in April

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,820,000 shares, a decline of 18.5% from the March 31st total of 12,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

StoneCo Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:STNE traded down $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.60. 3,448,532 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,166,753. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.65. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 2.35. StoneCo has a 1-year low of $9.34 and a 1-year high of $19.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 18th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $655.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.47 million. StoneCo had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 11.23%. Analysts anticipate that StoneCo will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of StoneCo from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group lowered shares of StoneCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of StoneCo from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of StoneCo from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of StoneCo from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, StoneCo has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On StoneCo

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of StoneCo by 152.1% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.19% of the company’s stock.

About StoneCo

StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.