Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 311,200 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the September 15th total of 282,100 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 62,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Caesarstone from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Caesarstone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Caesarstone

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Caesarstone by 89.7% during the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 329,827 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,349,000 after buying an additional 155,956 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Caesarstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caesarstone by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 36,291 shares of the construction company's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 6,006 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Caesarstone during the second quarter worth approximately $106,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new position in Caesarstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $107,000. 33.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caesarstone Trading Down 0.2 %

CSTE stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $4.36. The stock had a trading volume of 26,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,904. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.38 and a beta of 0.13. Caesarstone has a 1-year low of $3.50 and a 1-year high of $6.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.64 and a 200 day moving average of $5.28.

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The construction company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $119.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.85 million. Caesarstone had a negative return on equity of 8.21% and a negative net margin of 12.91%.

Caesarstone Company Profile

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company's engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.