Short Interest in Precision Optics Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:POCI) Expands By 421.6%

Precision Optics Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:POCI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,300 shares, an increase of 421.6% from the April 30th total of 3,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 22,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precision Optics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Needham Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Precision Optics by 63.7% in the first quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,905,000 after acquiring an additional 272,500 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Precision Optics by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 96,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Precision Optics in the 4th quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, WealthTrust Axiom LLC grew its position in shares of Precision Optics by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 247,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 9,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Precision Optics Price Performance

Precision Optics stock opened at $4.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.06 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Precision Optics has a 12 month low of $3.47 and a 12 month high of $6.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $4.28 and its 200-day moving average is $4.68.

Precision Optics (NASDAQ:POCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Precision Optics had a negative net margin of 21.46% and a negative return on equity of 39.17%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 million during the quarter.

Precision Optics Company Profile

Precision Optics Corporation, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells specialized optical and illumination systems and related components primarily in the United States and the European Economic Area. It offers medical instrumentation products, including endoscopes and endocouplers, as well as other custom imaging and illumination products, such as Microprecision lenses and micro medical cameras, and 3D endoscopes for use in minimally invasive surgical procedures by hospitals and physicians.