Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) Short Interest Up 69.6% in December

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,070,000 shares, a growth of 69.6% from the December 15th total of 1,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 926,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Ecovyst

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ECVT. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Ecovyst by 61.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Ecovyst by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Ecovyst by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 59,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 9,840 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in Ecovyst in the second quarter worth $106,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ecovyst during the third quarter valued at $86,000. 86.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ecovyst Stock Performance

Shares of ECVT traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.86. The stock had a trading volume of 91,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,731. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $915.19 million, a PE ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.05. Ecovyst has a fifty-two week low of $6.02 and a fifty-two week high of $11.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ECVT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Ecovyst in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ecovyst from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ecovyst from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Ecovyst Company Profile

Ecovyst Inc offers specialty catalysts and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Ecoservices and Advanced Materials & Catalysts. The Ecoservices segment provides sulfuric acid recycling services and end-to-end logistics for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications.