Short Interest in AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC) Increases By 14.9%

AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 160,400 shares, an increase of 14.9% from the December 15th total of 139,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 88,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AUDC. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of AudioCodes from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AudioCodes from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on AudioCodes from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AudioCodes

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AUDC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AudioCodes by 95.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,037 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 50,704 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AudioCodes by 72.8% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 21,672 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 9,133 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in AudioCodes in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Senvest Management LLC raised its stake in AudioCodes by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,580,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $25,108,000 after acquiring an additional 37,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in AudioCodes by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 91,287 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 9,150 shares during the period. 68.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AudioCodes Stock Performance

Shares of AudioCodes stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 52,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,458. AudioCodes has a one year low of $7.70 and a one year high of $14.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.84. The stock has a market cap of $324.56 million, a P/E ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.81.

About AudioCodes

AudioCodes Ltd. provides advanced communications software, products, and productivity solutions for the digital workplace worldwide. The company offers solutions, products, and services for unified communications, contact centers, hosted business services, Voice.AI, and service provider businesses. Its products include session border controllers, life cycle management solutions, VoIP network routing solutions, media gateways and servers, multi-service business routers, IP phones solutions, and value-added applications, as well as professional services.