Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) Short Interest Up 10.1% in August

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,300,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the August 15th total of 12,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ELAN. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Elanco Animal Health from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.57.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELAN traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $14.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,287,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,736,817. Elanco Animal Health has a 12 month low of $8.52 and a 12 month high of $18.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.40.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a negative net margin of 27.94% and a positive return on equity of 7.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Elanco Animal Health will post 0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elanco Animal Health

In related news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,301,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 145,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,886,450. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Elanco Animal Health news, Director Michael J. Harrington purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.85 per share, for a total transaction of $51,975.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 81,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,245.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.01 per share, with a total value of $1,301,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 145,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,886,450. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ELAN. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Elanco Animal Health by 337.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Elanco Animal Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Elanco Animal Health in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Elanco Animal Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Elanco Animal Health during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. 97.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Elanco Animal Health

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, an animal health company, innovates, develops, manufactures, and markets products for pets and farm animals. It offers pet health disease prevention products, such as parasiticide and vaccine products that protect pets from worms, fleas, and ticks under the Seresto, Advantage, Advantix, and Advocate brands; pet health therapeutics for pain, osteoarthritis, ear infections, cardiovascular, and dermatology indications in canines and felines under the Galliprant and Claro brands; vaccines, antibiotics, parasiticides, and other products for use in poultry and aquaculture production, as well as nutritional health products, including enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics; and a range of vaccines, antibiotics, implants, parasiticides, and other products used in ruminant and swine production under the Rumensin and Baytril brands.