Short Interest in Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) Declines By 13.0%

Leslie’s, Inc. (NASDAQ:LESL) saw a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,760,000 shares, a decline of 13.0% from the July 15th total of 28,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Currently, 14.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Leslie’s Price Performance

NASDAQ LESL traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.25. The stock had a trading volume of 4,344,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,108,930. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3.61 and its 200 day moving average is $5.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $600.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.63, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.16. Leslie’s has a twelve month low of $2.42 and a twelve month high of $8.21.

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $569.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.99 million. Leslie’s had a net margin of 1.06% and a negative return on equity of 12.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Leslie’s will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LESL. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Leslie’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $341,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Leslie’s by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 81,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Leslie’s in the 2nd quarter worth $1,716,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Leslie’s by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 21,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 7,650 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LESL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Leslie’s from $6.40 to $5.15 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Leslie’s from $6.00 to $4.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Leslie’s from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $5.25 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Leslie’s from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.96.

Leslie’s Company Profile

Leslie's, Inc operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products.