Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Short Interest Down 25.1% in August

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 861,000 shares, a drop of 25.1% from the August 15th total of 1,150,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 448,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALTO. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Alto Ingredients by 53.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,677,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after buying an additional 583,967 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alto Ingredients by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,494,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 413,116 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alto Ingredients in the second quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Alto Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $560,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Alto Ingredients during the second quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

Alto Ingredients Price Performance

ALTO stock opened at $1.54 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.68. Alto Ingredients has a 12-month low of $1.28 and a 12-month high of $4.98. The company has a market capitalization of $116.57 million, a PE ratio of -4.05 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $236.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $236.17 million. Alto Ingredients had a negative net margin of 3.49% and a negative return on equity of 11.26%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alto Ingredients will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Alto Ingredients in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

About Alto Ingredients

Alto Ingredients, Inc produces, distributes, and markets specialty alcohols, renewable fuel, and essential ingredients in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Marketing and Distribution, Pekin Campus Production, and Western Production. It offers specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners for health, home, and beauty markets; grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used in corn oils in the food and beverage markets; alcohols and other products for paint applications and fertilizers in the industrial and agriculture markets; and essential ingredients include dried yeast, corn protein meal, corn protein feed, distiller's grains, and liquid feed for commercial animal feed and pet food applications, as well as yeast for human consumption.