Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,510,000 shares, a growth of 30.1% from the May 31st total of 6,540,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PLNT. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 37,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,841,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in Planet Fitness during the 3rd quarter worth $381,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in Planet Fitness by 259.3% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 269,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,267,000 after purchasing an additional 194,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stansberry Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Planet Fitness during the 3rd quarter worth $873,000. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Planet Fitness Price Performance

NYSE:PLNT traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $72.15. 1,436,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,670. The company has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.43. Planet Fitness has a 1-year low of $44.13 and a 1-year high of $75.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.06 and a 200 day moving average of $66.51.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $248.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.48 million. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 140.14% and a net margin of 13.66%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Planet Fitness will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Planet Fitness from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Planet Fitness from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Planet Fitness from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $80.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Planet Fitness from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $62.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Planet Fitness from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Planet Fitness currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.64.

Planet Fitness Company Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.