Short Interest in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) Expands By 25.2%

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,020,000 shares, an increase of 25.2% from the February 28th total of 4,010,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

ExlService Stock Down 7.0 %

EXLS stock traded down $3.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,021,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 987,625. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. ExlService has a 52-week low of $28.16 and a 52-week high of $52.43.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.08). ExlService had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The company had revenue of $481.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $475.68 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ExlService will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on ExlService from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on ExlService from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of ExlService from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of ExlService from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at ExlService

In other ExlService news, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 16,186 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $833,579.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,986 shares in the company, valued at $2,110,779. The trade was a 28.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Maurizio Nicolelli sold 13,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total transaction of $675,822.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 194,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,554,781.60. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,351 shares of company stock worth $2,337,284 in the last three months. 4.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of ExlService

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of ExlService by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC acquired a new stake in ExlService in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in ExlService during the 4th quarter worth about $937,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of ExlService by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 477,705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $21,201,000 after acquiring an additional 51,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ExlService in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.92% of the company's stock.

ExlService Company Profile

ExlService Holdings, Inc operates as a data analytics, and digital operations and solutions company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Insurance, Healthcare, Analytics, and Emerging Business segments. It also provides digital operations and solutions and analytics-driven services, such as claims processing, premium and benefit administration, agency management, account reconciliation, policy research, underwriting support, new business acquisition, policy servicing, premium audit, surveys, billing and collection, commercial and residential survey, and customer service using digital technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced automation; digital customer acquisition services using a software-as-a-service delivery model through LifePRO and LISS platforms; subrogation services; and Subrosource software platform, an end-to-end subrogation platform.