The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Short Interest Down 5.3% in January

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,920,000 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the December 31st total of 34,770,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 16,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.13.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

NYSE KO opened at $63.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $272.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.61. Coca-Cola has a 52-week low of $57.93 and a 52-week high of $73.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $6,403,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,933,220.38. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $35,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $36,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coca-Cola during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.