Short Interest in Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) Increases By 11.9%

Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 362,700 shares, a growth of 11.9% from the July 15th total of 324,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 137,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSTE. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caesarstone by 89.7% during the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 329,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 155,956 shares in the last quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Caesarstone in the 4th quarter valued at $608,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Caesarstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $293,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Caesarstone by 19.8% during the first quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 36,291 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 6,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caesarstone in the second quarter valued at $106,000. Institutional investors own 33.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CSTE. StockNews.com cut shares of Caesarstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Caesarstone from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Caesarstone Price Performance

CSTE stock opened at $4.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.31 and its 200-day moving average is $5.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.90 million, a PE ratio of -1.38 and a beta of 0.13. Caesarstone has a 1 year low of $3.50 and a 1 year high of $6.81.

Caesarstone Company Profile

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company's engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.