Short Interest in Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) Rises By 39.2%

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,550,000 shares, a growth of 39.2% from the February 28th total of 6,860,000 shares. Currently, 13.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VSCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $40.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $53.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $38.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Victoria’s Secret & Co. from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Victoria’s Secret & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.73.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of VSCO stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,584,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,782,694. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.17. Victoria’s Secret & Co. has a 52-week low of $15.12 and a 52-week high of $48.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.07.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (NYSE:VSCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Victoria’s Secret & Co. had a return on equity of 44.74% and a net margin of 2.47%. Research analysts predict that Victoria’s Secret & Co. will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder International Pte Ltd Bbrc bought 80,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.78 per share, with a total value of $1,347,903.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,255,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,304,722.66. The trade was a 0.88 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 1,291,473 shares of company stock worth $23,185,437. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 146.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,757,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,856,000 after buying an additional 1,636,602 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Victoria’s Secret & Co. by 481.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,956,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,256 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Victoria’s Secret & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $37,693,000. SRS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,011,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,940,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.29% of the company’s stock.

About Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Victoria’s Secret & Co operates as a lingerie, clothing and beauty retailer. It offers bras, panties, lingerie, pajamas, sleep, sport and swim apparel, and beauty products. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Reynoldsburg, OH.