Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a growth of 13.2% from the November 30th total of 1,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 461,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Energy Recovery in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley decreased their price target on Energy Recovery from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Energy Recovery from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Fearnley Fonds lowered Energy Recovery from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Energy Recovery to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.75.

Energy Recovery Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ERII traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.70. The company had a trading volume of 307,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,907. Energy Recovery has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $20.27. The business's 50-day moving average is $16.67 and its 200 day moving average is $16.13. The company has a market cap of $851.04 million, a P/E ratio of 43.24 and a beta of 1.18.

Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. Energy Recovery had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $38.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. Energy Recovery's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Energy Recovery will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Recovery

In other news, Director Arve Hanstveit sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.87, for a total value of $337,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 743,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,537,480.34. This represents a 2.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Farshad Ghasripoor sold 10,526 shares of Energy Recovery stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.97, for a total transaction of $189,152.22. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 126,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,281,489.17. This represents a 7.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,406 shares of company stock worth $1,166,088. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Recovery

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Recovery in the third quarter worth approximately $15,237,000. Alpha Wave Global LP increased its holdings in shares of Energy Recovery by 93.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Wave Global LP now owns 1,171,586 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,374,000 after purchasing an additional 564,463 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Energy Recovery by 130.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 356,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,739,000 after buying an additional 201,770 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Energy Recovery by 14.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,238,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,533,000 after purchasing an additional 153,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roubaix Capital LLC acquired a new position in Energy Recovery in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,841,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.58% of the company's stock.

Energy Recovery Company Profile

Energy Recovery, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells energy efficiency technology solutions in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The company operates through Water and Emerging Technologies segments. The company offers high and low pressure, and ultra pressure exchangers; AT and LPT hydraulic turbochargers; and high-pressure feed and circulation booster pumps for use in seawater and brackish desalination, and wastewater treatment.