Park Dental Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PARK) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 89.5% in September

Park Dental Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PARK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 13,922 shares, an increase of 89.5% from the August 31st total of 7,348 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 54,767 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Park Dental Partners during the second quarter worth about $4,310,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Park Dental Partners during the second quarter worth about $1,444,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Park Dental Partners by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 17,383 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Park Dental Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $120,000.

Park Dental Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PARK traded down $0.16 on Wednesday, reaching $20.34. 4,948 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,603. Park Dental Partners has a twelve month low of $9.53 and a twelve month high of $26.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.48 and a 200-day moving average of $19.09. The company has a market capitalization of $96.82 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Park Dental Partners (NASDAQ:PARK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $66.21 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Park Dental Partners will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Park Dental Partners from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Northland Securities set a $27.00 price target on Park Dental Partners in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Park Dental Partners in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Park Dental Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Park Dental Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

Park Dental Partners Company Profile

Park Dental Partners (NASDAQ:PARK) is a dental support organization that provides business and administrative services to affiliated dental practices. Its support platform is designed to help dentists manage practice operations while focusing on patient care.

The company’s services may include practice administration, human resources, recruiting, information technology, marketing, purchasing, compliance, and operational support. Through its affiliated practices, Park Dental Partners serves patients seeking general and specialty dental care, including preventive, restorative, cosmetic, pediatric, and orthodontic services.

Park Dental Partners is associated with the Park Dental network, a dental practice organization established in Minnesota.