Short Interest in Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OESX) Rises By 105.4%

Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OESX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 85,512 shares, a growth of 105.4% from the March 15th total of 41,639 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,356 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Orion Energy Systems Price Performance

OESX stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $9.32. 17,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,383. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.72. The stock has a market cap of $37.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.52 and a beta of 0.73. Orion Energy Systems has a fifty-two week low of $5.50 and a fifty-two week high of $18.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Orion Energy Systems (NASDAQ:OESX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The electronics maker reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $21.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.81 million. Orion Energy Systems had a negative return on equity of 31.62% and a negative net margin of 5.62%. Research analysts predict that Orion Energy Systems will post -0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orion Energy Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Orion Energy Systems during the fourth quarter worth $232,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Orion Energy Systems during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Orion Energy Systems during the fourth quarter worth $706,000. Tieton Capital Management LLC increased its position in Orion Energy Systems by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 256,194 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,940,000 after buying an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its position in Orion Energy Systems by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 407,452 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $6,267,000 after buying an additional 23,998 shares in the last quarter. 52.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on OESX. Zacks Research cut Orion Energy Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Orion Energy Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Orion Energy Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

Orion Energy Systems Company Profile

Orion Energy Systems, Inc is a U.S.-based provider of energy-efficient lighting and building controls solutions. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the company specializes in designing, manufacturing and deploying LED lighting fixtures and integrated energy management systems for commercial and industrial customers.

The company’s product portfolio includes a range of LED light fixtures, smart sensors, networked controls and cloud-based energy management software.