Sono-Tek Corporation (NASDAQ:SOTK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Sono-Tek Corporation (NASDAQ:SOTK) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 64,730 shares, an increase of 235.8% from the August 31st total of 19,279 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 45,661 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Sono-Tek

In other Sono-Tek news, CFO Stephen Bagley sold 8,346 shares of Sono-Tek stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.13, for a total value of $42,814.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 21,254 shares in the company, valued at $109,033.02. The trade was a 28.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 13,000 shares of company stock worth $67,666 over the last ninety days. 5.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sono-Tek

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sono-Tek in the second quarter valued at approximately $349,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sono-Tek in the second quarter worth $179,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sono-Tek by 41.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 89,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 26,161 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Sono-Tek in the second quarter valued at $73,000. 47.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SOTK. Wall Street Zen raised Sono-Tek to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sono-Tek from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

Sono-Tek Stock Performance

Shares of SOTK traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.01. 44,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,087. Sono-Tek has a 52-week low of $3.40 and a 52-week high of $6.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.88. The firm has a market cap of $78.76 million, a P/E ratio of 38.54 and a beta of -0.02.

Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 8th. The industrial products company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. Sono-Tek had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 9.62%.The firm had revenue of $5.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sono-Tek will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sono-Tek

Sono-Tek Corporation develops and manufactures ultrasonic coating systems used to apply precise, uniform coatings to a variety of surfaces and components. Its technology uses high-frequency sound energy to atomize liquids into fine droplets, enabling controlled coating application with reduced overspray and material waste compared with conventional spray methods.

The company offers ultrasonic spray nozzles, coating systems, and integrated coating solutions, including automated and computer-controlled equipment.