Short Interest in Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) Expands By 28.9%

Iris Energy Limited (NASDAQ:IREN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,590,000 shares, a growth of 28.9% from the January 15th total of 15,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 17,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 11.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Iris Energy Price Performance

Shares of IREN stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $13.01. 14,086,829 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,815,508. Iris Energy has a 52 week low of $4.15 and a 52 week high of $15.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.99.

Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.13. Iris Energy had a negative return on equity of 8.01% and a negative net margin of 36.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Iris Energy will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iris Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sippican Capital Advisors raised its position in Iris Energy by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 12,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Iris Energy by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Iris Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in Iris Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Iris Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 41.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Iris Energy in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. B. Riley raised their price target on Iris Energy from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Iris Energy in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price target (up previously from $9.50) on shares of Iris Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Iris Energy from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.70.

About Iris Energy

Iris Energy Limited owns and operates bitcoin mining data centers. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.