Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWONK) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWONK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,840,000 shares, a growth of 10.8% from the December 15th total of 4,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on FWONK. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Formula One Group from $93.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Formula One Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Formula One Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group started coverage on Formula One Group in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Formula One Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Brian J. Wendling sold 1,094 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.57, for a total transaction of $76,109.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory B. Maffei sold 35,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.53, for a total transaction of $2,536,668.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,240,785 shares in the company, valued at $88,753,351.05. The trade was a 2.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lountzis Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Formula One Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. Lountzis Asset Management LLC now owns 5,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Formula One Group by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Formula One Group during the 4th quarter worth $827,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Formula One Group by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 27,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 3,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its position in shares of Formula One Group by 8.1% during the third quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 176,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,640,000 after purchasing an additional 13,146 shares during the period. 92.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Formula One Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FWONK traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $91.20. 769,892 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,003,555. Formula One Group has a twelve month low of $62.49 and a twelve month high of $96.89. The firm has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.31 and a beta of 0.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.24.

Formula One Group (NASDAQ:FWONK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $848.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $837.59 million. On average, analysts expect that Formula One Group will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Formula One Group

Formula One Group, through its subsidiary Formula 1, engages in the motorsports business in the United States and internationally. The company holds commercial rights for the FIA Formula One world championship, approximately a nine-month long motor race-based competition in which teams compete for the constructors' championship and drivers compete for the drivers' championship.