Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE:FSM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE:FSM - Get Free Report) TSE: FVI was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,260,000 shares, an increase of 27.7% from the March 15th total of 18,220,000 shares. Currently, 7.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 15,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Fortuna Silver Mines Stock Performance

Shares of FSM traded up $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $6.13. 1,865,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,467,534. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.57 and a beta of 1.22. Fortuna Silver Mines has a 12 month low of $3.86 and a 12 month high of $6.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $5.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Fortuna Silver Mines (NYSE:FSM - Get Free Report) TSE: FVI last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.09). Fortuna Silver Mines had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 10.08%. The business had revenue of $302.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.65 million. Equities analysts forecast that Fortuna Silver Mines will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FSM. National Bank Financial upgraded Fortuna Silver Mines to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Fortuna Silver Mines from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC lowered shares of Fortuna Silver Mines from a "neutral" rating to a "sector underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Fortuna Silver Mines from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FSM. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Fortuna Silver Mines by 224.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,720,375 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $20,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,266,096 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Fortuna Silver Mines by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,542,803 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,359,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,430 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Fortuna Silver Mines by 1,558.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,940,748 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,695 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortuna Silver Mines by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 8,340,195 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,864 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fortuna Silver Mines by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,170,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,305,000 after purchasing an additional 845,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.80% of the company's stock.

Fortuna Silver Mines Company Profile

Fortuna Mining Corp. engages in the precious and base metal mining in Argentina, Burkina Faso, Mexico, Peru, and Côte d'Ivoire. It operates through Mansfield, Sanu, Sango, Cuzcatlan, Bateas, and Corporate segments. The company primarily explores for silver, lead, zinc, and gold. Its flagship project is the Séguéla gold mine, which consists of approximately 62,000 hectares and is located in the Worodougou Region of the Woroba District, Côte d'Ivoire.