CPI Card Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PMTS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CPI Card Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PMTS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 102,300 shares, a growth of 47.2% from the November 15th total of 69,500 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 36,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PMTS. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of CPI Card Group from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson began coverage on CPI Card Group in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.67.

CPI Card Group Stock Up 1.8 %

CPI Card Group stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.30. The company had a trading volume of 37,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,938. The firm has a market cap of $382.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.19 and a 200-day moving average of $27.21. CPI Card Group has a 52 week low of $15.00 and a 52 week high of $34.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Equity Ulc Parallel49 sold 1,380,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $28,980,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,813,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,093,517. The trade was a 22.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director H Sanford Riley acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.51 per share, with a total value of $65,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,500 shares in the company, valued at $308,845. This trade represents a 26.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PMTS. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in CPI Card Group by 32.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CPI Card Group by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CPI Card Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 108,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,024,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in CPI Card Group by 7.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 44,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in CPI Card Group by 182.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.08% of the company's stock.

CPI Card Group Company Profile

CPI Card Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, production, data personalization, packaging, and fulfillment of financial payment cards. It operates through Debit and Credit, and Prepaid Debit segments. The Debit and Credit segment produces financial payment cards and provides integrated card services to card-issuing financial institutions.