Roche Holding AG (OTCMKTS:RHHBY) Short Interest Up 467.7% in February

Roche Holding AG (OTCMKTS:RHHBY) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 11,741,100 shares, an increase of 467.7% from the February 13th total of 2,068,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,269,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Roche Price Performance

RHHBY stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.86. 1,994,620 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,946,259. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.54. Roche has a 52 week low of $29.20 and a 52 week high of $43.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Roche by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 183,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,399,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Roche by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 110,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,866,000 after purchasing an additional 30,350 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Roche by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 60,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,000 after buying an additional 711 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Roche by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 33,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in Roche by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 23,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 1,496 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RHHBY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Roche to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded Roche from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Roche in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Roche

Roche Holding AG engages in the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania. The company offers pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas of anemia, blood and solid tumors, dermatology, hemophilia, inflammatory and autoimmune, neurological disorders, ophthalmology, respiratory disorders, and transplantation.