Parsons Co. (NYSE:PSN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Parsons Co. (NYSE:PSN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,620,000 shares, an increase of 42.2% from the January 15th total of 3,250,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Parsons Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE PSN traded down $3.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.82. 4,644,560 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,551,698. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 93.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.73. The company's fifty day moving average is $87.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.64. Parsons has a fifty-two week low of $59.90 and a fifty-two week high of $114.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PSN. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Parsons from $117.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Parsons from $125.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. William Blair raised Parsons from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Parsons from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Parsons from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Parsons currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.11.

Institutional Trading of Parsons

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Parsons in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Parsons in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Parsons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Parsons in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Parsons by 28,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 290 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.02% of the company's stock.

About Parsons

Parsons Corporation provides integrated solutions and services in the defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets in North America, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates through Federal Solutions and Critical Infrastructure segments. The Federal Solutions segment provides critical technologies, such as cybersecurity; missile defense; intelligence; space launch and ground systems; space and weapon system resiliency; geospatial intelligence; signals intelligence; environmental remediation; border security, critical infrastructure protection; counter unmanned air systems; biometrics and bio surveillance solutions to U.S.