Short Interest in Leslie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Declines By 27.2%

Leslie's, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,050,000 shares, a decline of 27.2% from the March 15th total of 22,040,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,910,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Leslie's Trading Up 5.8 %

Leslie's stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $0.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,636,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,658,003. The company's fifty day moving average is $0.92 and its 200-day moving average is $1.93. Leslie's has a 12-month low of $0.51 and a 12-month high of $6.02. The company has a market capitalization of $106.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 1.30.

Leslie's (NASDAQ:LESL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.02). Leslie's had a negative return on equity of 6.11% and a negative net margin of 2.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LESL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $3.00 target price on shares of Leslie's in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America cut shares of Leslie's from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $2.65 to $1.40 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Leslie's in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Leslie's from $1.90 to $1.55 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $3.00 price target on shares of Leslie's in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.65.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LESL. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Leslie's by 334.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 20,564 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Leslie's by 27.0% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 173,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 36,953 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Leslie's by 7.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,406,377 shares of the company's stock worth $26,564,000 after buying an additional 601,177 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Leslie's by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 399,169 shares of the company's stock worth $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 221,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Leslie's by 205.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 48,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 32,611 shares during the last quarter.

About Leslie's

Leslie's, Inc operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products.