The Children’s Place, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCE) Short Interest Update

The Children’s Place, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCE) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,820,000 shares, a growth of 17.5% from the August 15th total of 2,400,000 shares. Approximately 55.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on PLCE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Children’s Place from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Children’s Place from $24.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Children’s Place in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Children’s Place

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mithaq Capital SPC raised its stake in shares of Children’s Place by 1,932.4% in the 1st quarter. Mithaq Capital SPC now owns 7,001,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,796,000 after buying an additional 6,656,894 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Children’s Place by 80.3% in the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 129,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after buying an additional 57,740 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Children’s Place in the 2nd quarter valued at $464,000. Shellback Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Children’s Place in the 2nd quarter valued at $423,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Children’s Place by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 311,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,229,000 after buying an additional 48,964 shares in the last quarter.

Children’s Place Trading Down 15.9 %

NASDAQ:PLCE traded down $2.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $12.21. 3,448,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,585,821. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 2.15. Children’s Place has a twelve month low of $4.77 and a twelve month high of $38.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.36 and a 200 day moving average of $9.39.

Children’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 11th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.10) by $1.40. The firm had revenue of $319.66 million during the quarter. Children’s Place had a negative net margin of 10.52% and a negative return on equity of 4,732.98%.

About Children’s Place

The Children's Place, Inc operates as a children's specialty apparel retailer in North America. It operates through two segments, The Children's Place U.S. and The Children's Place International. The company offers apparel, footwear, accessories, and other items for children and tweens; and designs, contracts to manufacture, and sells merchandise under the proprietary The Children's Place, Place, Baby Place, Gymboree, Sugar & Jade, and PJ Place brand names.