Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,490,000 shares, a growth of 171.8% from the June 30th total of 2,020,000 shares. Approximately 9.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Despegar.com

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DESP. Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new position in Despegar.com in the fourth quarter valued at $12,954,000. Sylebra Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Despegar.com by 236.2% during the first quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 1,694,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,463 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Despegar.com during the 2nd quarter worth about $15,680,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Despegar.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,622,000. Finally, Woodson Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Despegar.com during the first quarter worth about $5,980,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.93% of the company’s stock.

Despegar.com Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DESP traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $11.71. 723,101 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,265,206. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.67. Despegar.com has a 1-year low of $6.09 and a 1-year high of $15.82.

Despegar.com (NYSE:DESP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $173.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.23 million. Despegar.com had a net margin of 5.41% and a negative return on equity of 44.06%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Despegar.com will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DESP shares. B. Riley lifted their target price on Despegar.com from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Despegar.com from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Despegar.com from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

About Despegar.com

Despegar.com, Corp., an online travel company, provides a range of travel and travel-related products to leisure and corporate travelers through its websites and mobile applications in Latin America and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Travel Business and Financial Services Business.