ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,450,000 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the October 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ATI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of ATI from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of ATI from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp lowered ATI from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on ATI from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of ATI in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ATI has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.71.

ATI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATI traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.05. The stock had a trading volume of 425,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,462,829. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.40 and a 200-day moving average of $60.58. ATI has a fifty-two week low of $38.04 and a fifty-two week high of $68.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08.

ATI (NYSE:ATI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.12 billion. ATI had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 21.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that ATI will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

ATI declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $700.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other ATI news, Chairman Robert S. Wetherbee sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.61, for a total transaction of $1,540,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 511,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,510,003.23. This trade represents a 4.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ATI

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATI. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in ATI during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of ATI by 557.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 933 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ATI by 294.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ATI during the second quarter worth $88,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of ATI in the 2nd quarter worth about $205,000.

About ATI

ATI Inc produces and sells specialty materials and complex components worldwide. It operates in two segments: High Performance Materials & Components (HPMC) and Advanced Alloys & Solutions (AA&S). The HPMC segment produces various materials, including titanium and titanium-based alloys, nickel- and cobalt-based alloys and superalloys, metallic powder alloys, advanced powder alloys and other specialty materials, in long product forms, such as ingot, billet, bar, rod, wire, shapes and rectangles, and seamless tubes, as well as precision forgings, components, and machined parts.

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