Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) Short Interest Update

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,590,000 shares, an increase of 16.9% from the August 15th total of 4,780,000 shares. Approximately 9.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on URBN. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Urban Outfitters from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Urban Outfitters from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.30.

Urban Outfitters Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Urban Outfitters stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.03. 1,369,378 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,652,400. Urban Outfitters has a twelve month low of $30.05 and a twelve month high of $48.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.41.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The apparel retailer reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. Urban Outfitters had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The company's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Urban Outfitters will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Tricia D. Smith sold 11,730 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.29, for a total value of $413,951.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Harry S. Cherken, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.30, for a total value of $241,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 565,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,303,796.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Tricia D. Smith sold 11,730 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.29, for a total transaction of $413,951.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 31.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of URBN. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 882 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Urban Outfitters by 1,825.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 924 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Urban Outfitters during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Urban Outfitters during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Urban Outfitters during the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 77.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Urban Outfitters Company Profile

Urban Outfitters, Inc engages in the retail and wholesale of general consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Nuuly. It operates Urban Outfitters stores, which offer women's and men's fashion apparel, activewear, intimates, footwear, accessories, home goods, electronics, and beauty products for young adults aged 18 to 28; and Anthropologie stores that provide women's apparel, accessories, intimates, shoes, and home furnishings, as well as gifts, decorative items, and beauty and wellness products for women aged 28 to 45.