The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COCO) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,370,000 shares, a drop of 8.2% from the January 15th total of 5,850,000 shares. Currently, 13.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 475,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on COCO shares. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Vita Coco from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Vita Coco from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens downgraded shares of Vita Coco from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Vita Coco from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vita Coco news, CMO Jane Prior sold 3,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.01, for a total transaction of $143,894.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 131,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,879,176.34. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Corey Baker sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.28, for a total transaction of $74,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 44,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,653,218.88. This represents a 4.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 128,435 shares of company stock worth $4,741,510 in the last three months. 34.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vita Coco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Vita Coco by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,828,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,414,000 after purchasing an additional 427,871 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vita Coco by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,589,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,565,000 after purchasing an additional 11,712 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Vita Coco by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,502,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,460,000 after purchasing an additional 185,692 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Vita Coco by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,421,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,486,000 after purchasing an additional 193,420 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Vita Coco by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,130,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,713,000 after purchasing an additional 64,011 shares during the period. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vita Coco Trading Down 2.2 %

COCO stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.11. 545,662 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 539,357. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.59 and its 200 day moving average is $32.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.51, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.30. Vita Coco has a 52-week low of $20.64 and a 52-week high of $40.32.

About Vita Coco

The Vita Coco Company, Inc develops, markets, and distributes coconut water products under the Vita Coco brand name in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers coconut oil and coconut milk; juice; Runa, a plant-based energy drink; packaged water under the Ever & Ever brand name; and PWR LIFT, a protein-infused fitness drink.