Aterian, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATER) Short Interest Down 36.9% in May

Aterian, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATER) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 237,200 shares, a drop of 36.9% from the May 15th total of 376,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 941,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ATER. Alliance Global Partners lowered Aterian from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $4.00 target price on Aterian in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aterian

In other Aterian news, insider Phillip Lepper sold 27,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.65, for a total transaction of $45,427.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 150,402 shares in the company, valued at $248,163.30. This trade represents a 15.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 74,710 shares of company stock worth $108,014 in the last 90 days. 10.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aterian

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aterian by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 21,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 9,026 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aterian during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aterian during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Aterian by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 45,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 21,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.02% of the company’s stock.

Aterian Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ATER traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.32. The company had a trading volume of 288,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,393. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.48 and a beta of 0.37. Aterian has a 12 month low of $1.22 and a 12 month high of $3.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.06.

Aterian (NASDAQ:ATER) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.95 million. Aterian had a negative return on equity of 56.01% and a negative net margin of 17.05%.

Aterian announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 18th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Aterian Company Profile

Aterian, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology-enabled consumer products company in North America and internationally. Its platform offers home and kitchen appliances; kitchenware; cooling and air quality appliances, such as dehumidifiers; health and beauty products; and essential oils under the Squatty Potty, hOmeLabs, Mueller, Pursteam, Healing Solutions, and Photo Paper Direct brand names.