Short Interest in Orthofix Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:OFIX) Drops By 18.2%

Orthofix Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:OFIX - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,120,000 shares, a drop of 18.2% from the November 30th total of 1,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 255,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Orthofix Medical Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OFIX traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.53. The company had a trading volume of 154,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,257. Orthofix Medical has a 12 month low of $12.08 and a 12 month high of $20.73. The stock has a market cap of $669.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.60 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orthofix Medical

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Orthofix Medical by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 2,556,100 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $33,894,000 after acquiring an additional 609,137 shares during the period. Engine Capital Management LP grew its position in Orthofix Medical by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 3,368,665 shares of the medical device company's stock worth $44,668,000 after purchasing an additional 333,364 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Orthofix Medical during the second quarter worth approximately $2,193,000. HighVista Strategies LLC bought a new position in Orthofix Medical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,689,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Orthofix Medical by 480.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 84,379 shares of the medical device company's stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 69,848 shares during the period. 89.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Orthofix Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $24.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 target price (up previously from $20.00) on shares of Orthofix Medical in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Orthofix Medical has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

About Orthofix Medical

Orthofix Medical Inc operates as a spine and orthopedics company in the United States, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Global Spine and Global Orthopedics. The Global Spine segment manufactures and distributes bone growth stimulator devices for enhance of bone fusion, including adjunctive and noninvasive treatment of cervical and lumbar spine, as well as a therapeutic treatment for non-spine; designs, develops, and markets a portfolio of motion preservation and fixation implant products, which are used in surgical procedures of the spine; and offers biological products, such as fiber-based and particulate demineralized bone matrices, cellular bone allografts, collagen ceramic matrices, and synthetic bone void fillers, and tissue forms, which allow physicians to treat various spinal and orthopedic conditions.