Short Interest in Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) Expands By 16.8%

Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 125,700 shares, an increase of 16.8% from the May 31st total of 107,600 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 103,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Caesarstone Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of CSTE stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.00. The stock had a trading volume of 3,033,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,454. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.65 million, a PE ratio of -1.58 and a beta of 0.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Caesarstone has a 52-week low of $3.50 and a 52-week high of $6.81.

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The construction company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $118.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.70 million. Caesarstone had a negative return on equity of 13.29% and a negative net margin of 20.45%. Equities analysts expect that Caesarstone will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Caesarstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caesarstone

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Caesarstone in the fourth quarter valued at $113,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Caesarstone by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 6,660 shares during the period. Acuitas Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Caesarstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $608,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Caesarstone by 21,632.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,680 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 53,433 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Caesarstone by 89.7% in the first quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 329,827 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 155,956 shares in the last quarter. 33.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caesarstone Company Profile

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.