Short Interest in Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) Expands By 48.6%

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BFAM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 955,900 shares, an increase of 48.6% from the November 30th total of 643,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 579,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BFAM shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Bright Horizons Family Solutions from $162.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.25.

Insider Activity at Bright Horizons Family Solutions

In other Bright Horizons Family Solutions news, Director Mary Ann Tocio sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.71, for a total transaction of $573,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,897,230.47. This trade represents a 16.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mary Lou Burke sold 800 shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.94, for a total transaction of $109,552.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 31,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,563.50. This trade represents a 2.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bright Horizons Family Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,181,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,761,000 after acquiring an additional 423,456 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Bright Horizons Family Solutions during the second quarter worth about $28,995,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 64.1% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,792,000 after acquiring an additional 222,823 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions by 174.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 344,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,260,000 after buying an additional 218,707 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bright Horizons Family Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $13,639,000.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Stock Performance

Bright Horizons Family Solutions stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $110.53. 318,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 409,677. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.89. Bright Horizons Family Solutions has a twelve month low of $91.61 and a twelve month high of $141.90.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. Bright Horizons Family Solutions had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 4.44%. The business had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Bright Horizons Family Solutions will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc provides early education and childcare, back-up care, educational advisory, and other workplace solutions services for employers and families in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. The company operates in three segments: Full Service Center-Based Child Care, Back-Up Care, and Educational Advisory and Other Services.