Short Interest in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Expands By 37.1%

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a growth of 37.1% from the February 28th total of 860,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 422,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BFAM. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 27th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $148.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.67.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.74, for a total value of $311,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,838,708.18. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $124,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 33,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,170,755.81. This represents a 2.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,958,538 shares of the company's stock worth $549,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868,117 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $91,536,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $79,578,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $71,842,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,370,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,752,000 after buying an additional 532,644 shares in the last quarter.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BFAM traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.49. The company had a trading volume of 312,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,847. The stock has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.54 and a beta of 1.49. The company's 50 day moving average price is $125.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a 52-week low of $100.59 and a 52-week high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

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.