Short Interest in National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) Expands By 23.0%

National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,490,000 shares, a growth of 23.0% from the June 30th total of 9,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,530,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.5 days. Currently, 14.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of National Vision from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th.

National Vision Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ EYE traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.11. 542,363 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,221,816. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.44. National Vision has a 52-week low of $11.91 and a 52-week high of $24.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $13.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.73.

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. National Vision had a positive return on equity of 3.47% and a negative net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $542.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $557.47 million. Analysts forecast that National Vision will post 0.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at National Vision

In related news, CEO L Reade Fahs acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.96 per share, for a total transaction of $299,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 633,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,471,131.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO L Reade Fahs bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.96 per share, with a total value of $299,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 633,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,471,131.12. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director D Randolph Peeler purchased 34,000 shares of National Vision stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.45 per share, for a total transaction of $491,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 182,880 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,616. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EYE. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in National Vision during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in National Vision by 12.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 464,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,079,000 after purchasing an additional 51,753 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in National Vision during the second quarter valued at $213,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Vision by 10.0% during the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of National Vision by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the last quarter.

National Vision Company Profile

National Vision Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America's Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services.