Skillsoft Corp. (NYSE:SKIL) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Skillsoft Corp. (NYSE:SKIL) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 438,403 shares, a drop of 37.4% from the September 15th total of 700,067 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 80,309 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Skillsoft from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Skillsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Skillsoft currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Insider Transactions at Skillsoft

In other Skillsoft news, CEO Ronald W. Hovsepian acquired 12,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.52 per share, with a total value of $83,306.04. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 362,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,365,103.92. This trade represents a 3.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jim Frankola purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.14 per share, for a total transaction of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 132,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $682,263.04. This trade represents a 23.20% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 65,918 shares of company stock valued at $378,582 over the last 90 days. 16.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Skillsoft

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Skillsoft by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 2,985 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Skillsoft in the second quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Skillsoft by 11.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 61,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 6,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.00% of the company’s stock.

Skillsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SKIL opened at $5.76 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.67. The firm has a market cap of $52.43 million, a P/E ratio of -0.31, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 2.41. Skillsoft has a 52-week low of $3.43 and a 52-week high of $18.45.

Skillsoft (NYSE:SKIL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.34. Skillsoft had a negative return on equity of 74.19% and a negative net margin of 36.13%. The firm had revenue of $98.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.00 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Skillsoft will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Skillsoft

Skillsoft Corporation (NYSE: SKIL) is a provider of digital learning and talent development solutions for businesses, government organizations and other institutions. The company helps organizations build workforce skills through online courses, learning paths, assessments, certifications and professional development content.

Its offerings include the Percipio learning experience platform, which provides access to courses, videos, books and other educational resources across business, technology and leadership topics.