Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Short Interest Up 65.2% in July

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,581,147 shares, a growth of 65.2% from the June 30th total of 957,205 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,721,793 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 17.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leslie’s

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Leslie’s by 61.3% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 3,570,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after buying an additional 1,356,700 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 923.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,254,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,647 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its position in shares of Leslie’s by 87.1% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,016,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 473,148 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Leslie’s during the second quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Leslie’s by 732.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 421,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 370,680 shares during the last quarter.

Leslie’s Stock Performance

Shares of LESL stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $0.95. 2,303,613 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 761,251. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.94. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 million, a P/E ratio of -0.03 and a beta of 1.65. Leslie’s has a fifty-two week low of $0.80 and a fifty-two week high of $12.53.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $162.48 million. On average, analysts forecast that Leslie’s will post -2.77 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LESL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Leslie’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $3.00 price objective (up from $2.00) on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Leslie’s from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Leslie’s in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.85.

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.