Short Interest in NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) Drops By 21.0%

NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,690,000 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the November 30th total of 2,140,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 506,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

NICE Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NICE traded down $2.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $173.45. 197,145 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 509,326. The stock has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. NICE has a fifty-two week low of $151.52 and a fifty-two week high of $270.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $180.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NICE shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of NICE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on NICE from $300.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of NICE in a report on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer cut NICE from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $215.00) on shares of NICE in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NICE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NICE

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of NICE by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,575,645 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $273,642,000 after purchasing an additional 279,375 shares during the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in NICE by 22.6% during the second quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,356,775 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $233,325,000 after purchasing an additional 250,334 shares during the period. Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its position in NICE by 49.7% during the second quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 1,188,371 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $204,168,000 after buying an additional 394,715 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in NICE by 12.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,056,537 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $181,693,000 after buying an additional 117,749 shares during the period. Finally, RGM Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of NICE by 12.5% in the second quarter. RGM Capital LLC now owns 1,051,105 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $180,759,000 after buying an additional 116,629 shares during the last quarter. 63.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NICE Company Profile

NICE Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud platforms for AI-driven digital business solutions worldwide. It offers CXone, a cloud native open platform; Enlighten, an AI engine for the customer engagement market; and smart self service enable organizations to address consumers' needs; and journey orchestration solutions that empower organizations to connect and route customers to deal with the customer's request, and connects them using real time AI-based routing.