1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,690,000 shares, a drop of 7.6% from the January 15th total of 6,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 514,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.1 days. Currently, 21.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut 1-800-FLOWERS.COM from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in a research report on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Fund 1 Investments, Llc bought 50,000 shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.18 per share, for a total transaction of $359,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,224,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,330,933.52. This represents a 1.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 1,310,605 shares of company stock worth $10,322,986. Insiders own 51.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 1-800-FLOWERS.COM

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 120.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,664 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.43% of the company's stock.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FLWS traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.21. 1,009,058 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 662,159. The firm has a market capitalization of $522.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -74.64 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.15. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has a twelve month low of $6.56 and a twelve month high of $11.42.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM (NASDAQ:FLWS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty retailer reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.11). 1-800-FLOWERS.COM had a negative return on equity of 0.76% and a negative net margin of 0.43%. As a group, equities analysts expect that 1-800-FLOWERS.COM will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc provides gifts for various occasions in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Consumer Floral & Gifts, Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets, and BloomNet. The company offers a range of products, including fresh-cut flowers, floral and fruit arrangements, plants, gifts, personalized products, dipped berries, popcorns, gourmet foods and gift baskets, cookies, chocolates, candies, wines, and gift-quality fruits.