ESS Tech, Inc. (NYSE:GWH) Short Interest Up 29.6% in March

ESS Tech, Inc. (NYSE:GWH) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,445,166 shares, a growth of 29.6% from the February 26th total of 1,114,977 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,058,793 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 5.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

ESS Tech Trading Down 6.3%

GWH traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $1.13. 353,501 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 676,973. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.31. The firm has a market cap of $30.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.26 and a beta of 1.46. ESS Tech has a 1 year low of $0.76 and a 1 year high of $13.87.

ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported ($1.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by ($0.44). ESS Tech had a negative return on equity of 1,141.31% and a negative net margin of 1,045.28%.The firm had revenue of ($1.59) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of ($1.60) million. As a group, equities analysts expect that ESS Tech will post -6.87 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESS Tech from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ESS Tech in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of ESS Tech from $3.50 to $2.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.50.

Institutional Trading of ESS Tech

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWH. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in ESS Tech by 140.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 136,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 79,657 shares in the last quarter. Arosa Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of ESS Tech by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Arosa Capital Management LP now owns 950,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 274,583 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of ESS Tech in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,632,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of ESS Tech by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 49,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 28,749 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of ESS Tech by 188.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 30,671 shares in the last quarter. 46.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESS Tech Company Profile

ESS Tech, Inc (NYSE: GWH) is a Portland, Oregon‐based company specializing in long‐duration iron flow battery energy storage solutions. The company’s core business centers on the design, manufacture and deployment of modular battery systems that store electricity using an iron‐chloride electrochemical process. These systems are engineered to support grid operators, utilities, commercial and industrial customers in integrating renewable power, managing peak loads and ensuring reliable back‐up power.

At the heart of ESS Tech’s offering is its “Energy Warehouse,” a containerized flow battery system featuring non‐toxic, fully recyclable materials and a simple architecture that separates energy storage capacity from power output.