Short Interest in The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) Expands By 27.3%

The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:COO) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,240,000 shares, a growth of 27.3% from the October 15th total of 1,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cooper Companies news, CEO Albert G. White III sold 114,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.53, for a total transaction of $12,710,065.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,273 shares in the company, valued at $18,267,624.69. This trade represents a 41.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian G. Andrews sold 24,788 shares of Cooper Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.90, for a total value of $2,625,049.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,422.60. This trade represents a 78.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 256,373 shares of company stock valued at $27,637,427 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cooper Companies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Cooper Companies by 4.5% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,595 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Cooper Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,986 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Cooper Companies by 0.8% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,600 shares of the medical device company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cooper Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,767 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cooper Companies by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,709 shares of the medical device company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.39% of the company’s stock.

Cooper Companies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COO opened at $99.63 on Friday. Cooper Companies has a twelve month low of $82.21 and a twelve month high of $112.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of 55.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.83 and its 200 day moving average is $98.00.

Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The medical device company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.05. Cooper Companies had a net margin of 9.45% and a return on equity of 9.08%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $997.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cooper Companies will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cooper Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Cooper Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Cooper Companies from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Cooper Companies in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Cooper Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.00.

About Cooper Companies

The Cooper Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets contact lens wearers. The company operates in two segments, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. The CooperVision segment provides spherical lense, including lenses that correct near and farsightedness; and toric and multifocal lenses comprising lenses correcting vision challenges, such as astigmatism, presbyopia, and myopia in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.