Short Interest in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) Increases By 36.2%

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,760,000 shares, a growth of 36.2% from the February 13th total of 4,230,000 shares. Currently, 7.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Fitness

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 2.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,947 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A grew its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 2,710 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 390 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,632 shares of the company's stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.53% of the company's stock.

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Planet Fitness Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PLNT remained flat at $100.68 during trading hours on Thursday. 664,028 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,454,524. Planet Fitness has a one year low of $54.35 and a one year high of $110.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $101.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.79. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.54.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.08. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.23% and a negative return on equity of 107.97%. The company had revenue of $340.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Planet Fitness will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Macquarie cut their price target on Planet Fitness from $99.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Planet Fitness presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.17.

Planet Fitness Company Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.