Short Interest in Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) Rises By 62.6%

Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, a growth of 62.6% from the February 13th total of 1,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,130,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Despegar.com Trading Up 0.2 %

DESP stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,007,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,120. Despegar.com has a 12 month low of $9.25 and a 12 month high of $19.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Despegar.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Despegar.com from $17.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Despegar.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DESP. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Despegar.com by 756.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Despegar.com by 107.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Despegar.com in the third quarter worth $56,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Despegar.com in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its stake in Despegar.com by 107.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,996 shares during the period. 67.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Despegar.com

Despegar.com, Corp., an online travel company, provides a range of travel and travel-related products to leisure and corporate travelers through its websites and mobile applications in Latin America and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Travel Business and Financial Services Business.