Short Interest in Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTR) Increases By 13.4%

Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTR) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,800,000 shares, a growth of 13.4% from the December 31st total of 3,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Altair Engineering Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALTR traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $110.43. The stock had a trading volume of 98,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 802,241. The stock has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 290.72, a P/E/G ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Altair Engineering has a 12-month low of $75.71 and a 12-month high of $113.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Altair Engineering from $90.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Altair Engineering from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Altair Engineering from $88.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Altair Engineering in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Altair Engineering in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altair Engineering currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew Charles Brown sold 1,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total transaction of $114,127.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,046,019.10. This represents a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Ralph Scapa sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.69, for a total transaction of $1,373,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 134,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,167,216.05. This trade represents a 8.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 61,947 shares of company stock worth $6,557,428. Company insiders own 21.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Altair Engineering by 572.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 289 shares of the software’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Altair Engineering by 77.0% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 285 shares of the software’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Altair Engineering by 52.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 636 shares of the software’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Altair Engineering by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,358 shares of the software’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Altair Engineering by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,640 shares of the software’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. 63.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Altair Engineering

Altair Engineering Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides software and cloud solutions in the areas of simulation and design, high-performance computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Software and Client Engineering Services.