ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,020,000 shares, a growth of 25.2% from the February 28th total of 4,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EXLS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on ExlService from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on ExlService from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on ExlService from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ExlService presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.38.

ExlService Stock Performance

EXLS traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 111,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 981,613. ExlService has a one year low of $28.16 and a one year high of $52.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 41.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.10.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $481.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $475.68 million. ExlService had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 23.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ExlService will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other ExlService news, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 16,186 shares of ExlService stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $833,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,110,779. The trade was a 28.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Anita Mahon sold 10,558 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.92, for a total value of $484,823.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,336,822.56. This represents a 10.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,351 shares of company stock worth $2,337,284. Insiders own 4.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of ExlService

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of ExlService by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of ExlService during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of ExlService in the fourth quarter valued at $937,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in ExlService by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 477,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,201,000 after purchasing an additional 51,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in ExlService during the fourth quarter valued at $221,000. 92.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ExlService Company Profile

ExlService Holdings, Inc operates as a data analytics, and digital operations and solutions company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Insurance, Healthcare, Analytics, and Emerging Business segments. It also provides digital operations and solutions and analytics-driven services, such as claims processing, premium and benefit administration, agency management, account reconciliation, policy research, underwriting support, new business acquisition, policy servicing, premium audit, surveys, billing and collection, commercial and residential survey, and customer service using digital technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced automation; digital customer acquisition services using a software-as-a-service delivery model through LifePRO and LISS platforms; subrogation services; and Subrosource software platform, an end-to-end subrogation platform.