Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, an increase of 62.6% from the February 13th total of 1,630,000 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Despegar.com Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Despegar.com stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.25. 1,007,477 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,356,120. Despegar.com has a 1 year low of $9.25 and a 1 year high of $19.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.22 and its 200 day moving average is $16.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DESP shares. TD Cowen upgraded Despegar.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. B. Riley cut Despegar.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Despegar.com from $17.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Despegar.com

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sylebra Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Despegar.com by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 4,760,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837,158 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Despegar.com by 428.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,381,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,931,033 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Despegar.com by 1.3% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 2,099,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,030,000 after acquiring an additional 26,443 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Despegar.com by 106.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,793,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,523,000 after acquiring an additional 925,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodson Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Despegar.com by 78.4% in the third quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 1,426,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,694,000 after acquiring an additional 626,952 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.93% of the company’s stock.

About Despegar.com

Despegar.com, Corp., an online travel company, provides a range of travel and travel-related products to leisure and corporate travelers through its websites and mobile applications in Latin America and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Travel Business and Financial Services Business.