Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Short Interest Update

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 899,300 shares, a decrease of 23.8% from the March 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 451,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BFAM. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $155.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In related news, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.69, for a total transaction of $124,690.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 33,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,170,755.81. This represents a 2.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total transaction of $311,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares in the company, valued at $2,838,708.18. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BFAM. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 7,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,739 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $679,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 115,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,768,000 after purchasing an additional 35,959 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,212,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 40,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,442,000 after purchasing an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Price Performance

BFAM stock traded up $4.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $121.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,834. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 1 year low of $100.59 and a 1 year high of $141.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.67 and a beta of 1.31. The company's fifty day moving average is $123.57 and its 200-day moving average is $120.25.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.03). Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 13.63%. On average, research analysts expect that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Company Profile

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides early education and childcare, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company operates in three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services.