Short Interest in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) Expands By 21.6%

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLWS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,430,000 shares, an increase of 21.6% from the August 15th total of 2,820,000 shares. Approximately 12.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 274,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 12.5 days.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM Stock Performance

FLWS traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $7.94. 193,902 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 325,748. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.62. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has a 1-year low of $6.27 and a 1-year high of $11.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

1-800-FLOWERS.COM (NASDAQ:FLWS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.07). 1-800-FLOWERS.COM had a positive return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 0.33%. The company had revenue of $360.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.40 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.28) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that 1-800-FLOWERS.COM will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 96.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,532 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 5,173 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM during the 1st quarter worth approximately $167,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,265 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 25,633 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM in the 2nd quarter worth $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded shares of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, August 30th.

About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM

1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc provides gifts for various occasions in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Consumer Floral & Gifts, Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets, and BloomNet. The company offers a range of products, including fresh-cut flowers, floral and fruit arrangements, plants, gifts, personalized products, dipped berries, popcorns, gourmet foods and gift baskets, cookies, chocolates, candies, wines, and gift-quality fruits.