Short Interest in ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI) Grows By 27.6%

ATI Inc. (NYSE:ATI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,450,000 shares, an increase of 27.6% from the October 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

ATI Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATI opened at $56.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. ATI has a 1-year low of $38.04 and a 1-year high of $68.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.62.

ATI (NYSE:ATI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.06). ATI had a return on equity of 21.39% and a net margin of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that ATI will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

ATI declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, September 3rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at ATI

In related news, Chairman Robert S. Wetherbee sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.23, for a total transaction of $1,555,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 486,443 shares in the company, valued at $30,271,347.89. This trade represents a 4.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in ATI in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of ATI by 557.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ATI by 294.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in ATI during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in ATI in the second quarter valued at approximately $205,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of ATI from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. KeyCorp lowered ATI from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on ATI from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of ATI in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of ATI from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.71.

ATI Company Profile

ATI Inc produces and sells specialty materials and complex components worldwide. It operates in two segments: High Performance Materials & Components (HPMC) and Advanced Alloys & Solutions (AA&S). The HPMC segment produces various materials, including titanium and titanium-based alloys, nickel- and cobalt-based alloys and superalloys, metallic powder alloys, advanced powder alloys and other specialty materials, in long product forms, such as ingot, billet, bar, rod, wire, shapes and rectangles, and seamless tubes, as well as precision forgings, components, and machined parts.