National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Short Interest Update

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,730,000 shares, a growth of 23.0% from the February 28th total of 5,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 8.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

National Vision Stock Down 10.1 %

EYE stock traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $11.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,287,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,487,937. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $912.31 million, a PE ratio of -57.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.34. National Vision has a 12 month low of $9.56 and a 12 month high of $21.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Vision by 226.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 23,359 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in National Vision by 17.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,412,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,408,000 after acquiring an additional 208,684 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in National Vision by 11.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 291,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,181,000 after acquiring an additional 30,012 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in National Vision during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of National Vision during the 3rd quarter valued at $184,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EYE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on National Vision from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of National Vision from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of National Vision from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of National Vision from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.00.

About National Vision

National Vision Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America’s Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services.