Short Interest in Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) Grows By 10.3%

Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 311,200 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the September 15th total of 282,100 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 62,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CSTE shares. Benchmark reduced their price target on Caesarstone from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Caesarstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caesarstone

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Caesarstone during the second quarter worth $28,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Caesarstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $106,000. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Caesarstone in the second quarter worth about $107,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Caesarstone by 19.8% in the first quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 36,291 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 6,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Caesarstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $293,000. 33.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caesarstone Price Performance

NASDAQ:CSTE traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $4.41. 7,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 86,431. Caesarstone has a 52-week low of $3.50 and a 52-week high of $6.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 0.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $4.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.27.

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The construction company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $119.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.85 million. Caesarstone had a negative return on equity of 8.21% and a negative net margin of 12.91%.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company’s engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.