Zebra Technologies Co. (NASDAQ:ZBRA) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Zebra Technologies Co. (NASDAQ:ZBRA) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 687,000 shares, a drop of 21.9% from the February 13th total of 879,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 513,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ZBRA. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Zebra Technologies from $427.00 to $390.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Zebra Technologies from $430.00 to $395.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Zebra Technologies from $407.00 to $326.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Zebra Technologies from $432.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Zebra Technologies in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $430.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $381.42.

Zebra Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ZBRA opened at $285.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $368.97. Zebra Technologies has a 1-year low of $266.75 and a 1-year high of $427.76.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($0.23). Zebra Technologies had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zebra Technologies will post 13.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Zebra Technologies news, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $311.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 202,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,876,736. This trade represents a 0.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zebra Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zebra Technologies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,260,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,417,942,000 after acquiring an additional 55,130 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Zebra Technologies by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,149,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $796,128,000 after acquiring an additional 70,771 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Zebra Technologies by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,422,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,586,000 after acquiring an additional 20,992 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Zebra Technologies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,296,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $500,701,000 after acquiring an additional 86,766 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,276,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,935,000 after buying an additional 30,496 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

About Zebra Technologies

Zebra Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides enterprise asset intelligence solutions in the automatic identification and data capture solutions industry worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Intelligence & Tracking, and Enterprise Visibility & Mobility. The company designs, manufactures, and sells printers that produce labels, wristbands, tickets, receipts, and plastic cards; dye-sublimination thermal card printers that produce images, which are used for personal identification, access control, and financial transactions; radio frequency identification device (RFID) printers that encode data into passive RFID transponders; accessories and options for printers, including carrying cases, vehicle mounts, and battery chargers; stock and customized thermal labels, receipts, ribbons, plastic cards, and RFID tags for printers; and temperature-monitoring labels primarily used in vaccine distribution.