iRobot Co. (NASDAQ:IRBT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

iRobot Co. (NASDAQ:IRBT) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,180,000 shares, an increase of 31.8% from the February 13th total of 3,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 18.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IRBT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of iRobot from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of iRobot in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

iRobot Price Performance

NASDAQ IRBT traded down $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $3.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,296,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,613,748. iRobot has a 12 month low of $2.99 and a 12 month high of $14.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.74 million, a PE ratio of -0.76 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iRobot

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IRBT. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of iRobot during the 3rd quarter worth about $117,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of iRobot by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 11,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 3,285 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of iRobot during the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of iRobot by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 5,709 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of iRobot during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,556,000. 77.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About iRobot

iRobot Corporation designs, builds, and sells robots and home innovation products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and internationally. The company offers floor care products, including Roomba floor vacuuming robots; Roomba accessories and consumables, such as the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, replacement dirt disposal bags for the Clean Base, filters, brushes, and batteries; Braava family of automatic floor mopping robots; and Braava accessories and consumables, which include cleaning solution, washable and disposable mopping pads, replacement tanks, and batteries, as well as subscription services.