eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,898,345 shares, an increase of 16.9% from the March 31st total of 1,624,164 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 557,480 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 6.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded eHealth from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on eHealth from $9.00 to $3.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded eHealth from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John Joseph Dolan bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.53 per share, for a total transaction of $38,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 208,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,395.15. This represents a 13.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of eHealth

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in eHealth during the second quarter worth $90,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in eHealth during the third quarter worth $69,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in eHealth during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new stake in eHealth during the third quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of eHealth by 1,265.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 10,367 shares during the last quarter. 79.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

eHealth Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of EHTH traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.04. The company had a trading volume of 257,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,673. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.32 million, a P/E ratio of -2.87 and a beta of 1.57. eHealth has a 1 year low of $1.20 and a 1 year high of $7.09.

eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.38 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $326.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.25 million. eHealth had a return on equity of 5.46% and a net margin of 6.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that eHealth will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

About eHealth

eHealth, Inc operates one of the largest online private health insurance exchanges in the United States. The company’s platform enables consumers to compare, select and enroll in individual, family and small-group health insurance plans offered by a broad network of licensed insurance carriers. In addition to Affordable Care Act–compliant offerings, eHealth provides dedicated services for Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, helping seniors navigate the complexities of Medicare coverage.

Through its digital marketplace, eHealth delivers real-time quotes, detailed plan comparisons and enrollment processing.