PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) Short Interest Up 35.2% in February

PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,380,000 shares, a growth of 35.2% from the January 31st total of 1,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 944,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

PTC Price Performance

Shares of PTC opened at $160.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.95. The stock has a market cap of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.19. PTC has a 1-year low of $159.56 and a 1-year high of $203.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

PTC (NASDAQ:PTC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The technology company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.12). PTC had a net margin of 16.95% and a return on equity of 14.49%. As a group, analysts forecast that PTC will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of PTC from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on PTC from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $204.00 price objective on shares of PTC in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on PTC from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on PTC from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PTC presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Staats Aaron C. Von sold 5,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.13, for a total transaction of $1,075,298.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,707 shares in the company, valued at $4,344,221.91. This represents a 19.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PTC

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PTC in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of PTC by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 188 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of PTC by 70.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in PTC in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in PTC during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. 95.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PTC Company Profile

PTC Inc operates as software company in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides Windchill, a suite that manages all aspects of the product development lifecycle(PLM) that provides real-time information sharing, dynamic data visualization, collaborate across geographically distributed teams, and enabling manufacturers to elevate product development, manufacturing, and field service processes; ThingWorx, a platform for Industrial Internet of Things; ServiceMax, a field service management solutions enable companies to asset uptime with optimized in-person and remote service and technician productivity with mobile tools.