Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,450,000 shares, a growth of 26.8% from the February 13th total of 2,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 816,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ECVT. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Ecovyst from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ecovyst from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Ecovyst Price Performance

NYSE:ECVT opened at $6.68 on Wednesday. Ecovyst has a 1-year low of $6.02 and a 1-year high of $11.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $783.42 million, a PE ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.04.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ecovyst

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Ecovyst by 198.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 178,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 118,303 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Ecovyst during the third quarter worth $2,087,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ecovyst by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,000,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,283,000 after purchasing an additional 244,081 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Ecovyst during the fourth quarter worth $139,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ecovyst by 1.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,426,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,622,000 after buying an additional 33,292 shares in the last quarter. 86.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ecovyst

Ecovyst Inc offers specialty catalysts and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Ecoservices and Advanced Materials & Catalysts. The Ecoservices segment provides sulfuric acid recycling services and end-to-end logistics for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications.