Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, an increase of 7.9% from the May 31st total of 1,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 522,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Itron

In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of Itron stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total transaction of $33,227.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,642,237.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Christopher E. Ware sold 311 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $33,227.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,642,237.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 873 shares of Itron stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.87, for a total transaction of $95,043.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 206,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,444,965.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,775 shares of company stock valued at $192,613. Insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Itron

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Itron by 61.5% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 344 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Itron during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Itron in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Itron in the fourth quarter worth approximately $81,000. 96.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ITRI shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Itron from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Itron from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler downgraded Itron from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $109.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Itron from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.64.

Itron Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ITRI traded up $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 329,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,017. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.45. Itron has a 12 month low of $56.11 and a 12 month high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.47.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $603.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $579.49 million. Itron had a net margin of 7.03% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The business’s revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Itron will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc, a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products.