Short Interest in eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) Increases By 9.0%

eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the March 31st total of 1,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 286,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

eHealth Stock Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ:EHTH opened at $4.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.73 million, a P/E ratio of -1.71 and a beta of 0.40. eHealth has a 1-year low of $4.28 and a 1-year high of $10.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $247.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.93 million. eHealth had a negative return on equity of 5.54% and a negative net margin of 6.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that eHealth will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of eHealth

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in eHealth by 76.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 5,782 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in eHealth by 143.7% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 88,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 52,436 shares in the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC purchased a new position in eHealth during the fourth quarter valued at $20,895,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of eHealth by 1,205.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 8,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of eHealth by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 21,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. 79.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Craig Hallum lowered shares of eHealth from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, eHealth currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.00.

eHealth Company Profile

eHealth, Inc operates a health insurance marketplace that provides consumer engagement, education, and health insurance enrollment solutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Medicare; and Employer and Individual. The Medicare segment offers sale of Medicare-related health insurance plans, which includes Medicare advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to Medicare-eligible customers including but not limited to, dental, and vision insurance, as well as advertising program for marketing and other services.