Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,710,000 shares, an increase of 16.3% from the February 13th total of 5,770,000 shares. Approximately 12.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Crocs from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Crocs from $144.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Crocs from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Crocs from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Crocs from $180.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.53.

Crocs Price Performance

Shares of CROX opened at $106.98 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $102.33 and a 200 day moving average of $114.19. Crocs has a twelve month low of $88.25 and a twelve month high of $165.32.

Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The textile maker reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.25. Crocs had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 46.27%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Crocs will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crocs

In other Crocs news, EVP Shannon Sisler sold 4,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.75, for a total transaction of $511,325.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,299 shares in the company, valued at $3,215,565.25. This represents a 13.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adam Michaels sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.69, for a total transaction of $1,600,350.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,529,870.87. The trade was a 14.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crocs

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CROX. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Crocs by 40.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,907 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 5,995 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Crocs by 11.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,659 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Crocs by 17.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Crocs in the third quarter worth approximately $905,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Crocs by 24.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 12,797 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,491 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

Crocs Company Profile

Crocs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells casual lifestyle footwear and accessories for men, women, and children under Crocs and HEYDUDE Brand in the United States and internationally. The company offers various footwear products, including clogs, sandals, slides, flips, wedges, platforms, socks, boots, charms, flip flops, sneakers, and slippers.