Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) Short Interest Down 5.1% in December

Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 198,600 shares, a drop of 5.1% from the November 30th total of 209,300 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 42,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caesarstone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Caesarstone by 1.6% in the third quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 3,019,248 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,768,000 after acquiring an additional 48,200 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Caesarstone by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 163,335 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Caesarstone during the 2nd quarter worth $293,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Caesarstone by 1,206.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,704 shares of the construction company's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 43,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Caesarstone by 87.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,445 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 20,271 shares during the last quarter. 33.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caesarstone Trading Down 2.5 %

CSTE traded down $0.11 on Wednesday, hitting $4.25. 87,055 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 78,842. The company has a market cap of $146.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.11 and a beta of 0.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.74. Caesarstone has a twelve month low of $3.76 and a twelve month high of $6.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caesarstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company's engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.