LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMAT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, an increase of 37.5% from the December 15th total of 880,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 157,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.7 days. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

LeMaitre Vascular Stock Up 0.8 %

LMAT traded up $0.83 on Friday, reaching $99.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 116,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,181. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.96. LeMaitre Vascular has a fifty-two week low of $56.04 and a fifty-two week high of $109.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $98.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.80.

LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $54.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.50 million. LeMaitre Vascular had a return on equity of 13.15% and a net margin of 19.40%. The company’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that LeMaitre Vascular will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LeMaitre Vascular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. LeMaitre Vascular’s payout ratio is 34.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bridget A. Ross sold 3,750 shares of LeMaitre Vascular stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $380,512.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,148.66. This trade represents a 62.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 10.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of LeMaitre Vascular by 73.2% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 433 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of LeMaitre Vascular during the third quarter valued at $60,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of LeMaitre Vascular by 34.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 736 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of LeMaitre Vascular during the second quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LeMaitre Vascular during the second quarter valued at $104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of LeMaitre Vascular from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of LeMaitre Vascular in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of LeMaitre Vascular from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of LeMaitre Vascular in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LeMaitre Vascular has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.57.

LeMaitre Vascular Company Profile

LeMaitre Vascular, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices and implants used in the field of vascular surgery worldwide. It offers human cadaver tissue cryopreservation services; angioscope, a fiberoptic catheter used for viewing the lumen of a blood vessel; embolectomy catheters to remove blood clots from arteries; thrombectomy catheters for removing thrombi in the venous system; occlusion catheters that temporarily occlude the blood flow; and perfusion catheters to perfuse the blood and other fluids into the vasculature.