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

The Children’s Place, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCE) was the target of a large 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. Currently, 55.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,670,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Children’s Place Price Performance

PLCE traded down $2.31 on Monday, reaching $12.21. 3,448,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,585,821. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.39. Children’s Place has a 52-week low of $4.77 and a 52-week high of $38.03. The company has a market cap of $155.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 2.15.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Children’s Place during the second quarter valued at approximately $464,000. Shellback Capital LP bought a new stake in Children’s Place in the second quarter worth approximately $423,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in Children’s Place by 67.7% in the second quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 18,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 7,272 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Children’s Place by 144.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 41,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 24,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in Children’s Place by 42.3% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 21,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 6,383 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Children’s Place in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Children’s Place from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Children’s Place from $24.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.50.

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.