Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,370,000 shares, a drop of 45.4% from the May 15th total of 9,830,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on APTV shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Aptiv from $84.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Aptiv from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Aptiv from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Aptiv from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Aptiv in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.50.

Aptiv Stock Performance

APTV traded down $2.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.13. 2,103,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,484,126. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.47. Aptiv has a 1-year low of $47.19 and a 1-year high of $80.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. Aptiv had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 9.07%. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Aptiv will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aptiv

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Aptiv by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,289,126 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $864,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,104 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Aptiv by 242.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,560,781 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $509,366,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,438 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Aptiv by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,775,251 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $470,247,000 after purchasing an additional 126,882 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Aptiv by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,146,947 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $371,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Aptiv by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,934,199 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $353,085,000 after purchasing an additional 570,930 shares in the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aptiv

Aptiv PLC engages in design, manufacture, and sale of vehicle components in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, South America, and internationally. The company provides electrical, electronic, and safety technology solutions to the automotive and commercial vehicle markets. It operates through two segments, Signal and Power Solutions, and Advanced Safety and User Experience.