Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,540,000 shares, a growth of 6.1% from the November 15th total of 4,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 8.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CROX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Crocs from $164.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Crocs in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Crocs from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Crocs from $146.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Crocs from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.80.

Crocs Price Performance

CROX traded up $2.64 on Tuesday, reaching $111.60. The stock had a trading volume of 920,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,347,098. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.01 and a 200-day moving average of $131.68. Crocs has a fifty-two week low of $85.71 and a fifty-two week high of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.98.

Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The textile maker reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. Crocs had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 49.70%. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crocs will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John B. Replogle acquired 2,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $112.60 per share, for a total transaction of $252,224.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,630.40. This represents a 31.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan L. Healy bought 1,000 shares of Crocs stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $99.70 per share, for a total transaction of $99,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 22,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,258,404.40. This represents a 4.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 2.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Crocs by 55.8% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 40,192 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,820,000 after buying an additional 14,387 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crocs by 585.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,349 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 20,797 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Crocs by 2,775.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,908 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 7,633 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Crocs during the third quarter worth approximately $2,024,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Crocs in the third quarter worth approximately $2,076,000. Institutional investors own 93.44% of the company’s stock.

About Crocs

Crocs, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells casual lifestyle footwear and accessories for men, women, and children under Crocs and HEYDUDE Brand in the United States and internationally. The company offers various footwear products, including clogs, sandals, slides, flips, wedges, platforms, socks, boots, charms, flip flops, sneakers, and slippers.