Short Interest in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Rises By 79.7%

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,754,995 shares, a growth of 79.7% from the April 30th total of 976,622 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,417,708 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 18.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Leslie’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LESL. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in shares of Leslie’s by 309.7% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 61,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 46,468 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Leslie’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Barclays PLC bought a new position in shares of Leslie’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Scopia Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on LESL shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $3.00 price objective (up from $2.00) on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Leslie’s from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $1.00 price objective on Leslie’s and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.85.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Shares of LESL opened at $4.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.88. Leslie’s has a 52-week low of $0.87 and a 52-week high of $16.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.71 million, a PE ratio of -0.16 and a beta of 1.95.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported ($5.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($4.41) by ($0.95). The company had revenue of $184.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $162.48 million. Equities research analysts predict that Leslie’s will post -2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Leslie’s

Leslie’s, Inc (NASDAQ: LESL) is the largest direct-to-consumer retailer of swimming pool supplies and related equipment in the United States. Through a network of more than 900 company-operated stores and a robust e-commerce platform, the company offers a comprehensive range of pool chemicals, cleaning tools, pumps, filters, heaters and pool accessories. In addition to product retailing, Leslie’s provides in-store and in-home water testing services, equipment installation, repair and ongoing maintenance programs designed to support both residential and commercial pool owners.

Founded in 1963 in North Miami Beach, Florida, Leslie’s has grown from a single neighborhood pool-supply shop into a national specialty retailer.