Short Interest in Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) Expands By 79.6%

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ:OCC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 525,812 shares, a growth of 79.6% from the May 14th total of 292,792 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 406,732 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 7.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OCC. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Optical Cable in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Optical Cable from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Optical Cable Price Performance

Optical Cable stock traded down $2.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $20.52. 798,011 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 434,145. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.50. Optical Cable has a 52-week low of $2.56 and a 52-week high of $27.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 2.08. The company has a market cap of $181.19 million, a P/E ratio of 171.01 and a beta of 0.62.

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) last released its earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter. Optical Cable had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 1.29%.The company had revenue of $22.21 million during the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS.

Institutional Trading of Optical Cable

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Optical Cable during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in Optical Cable in the 3rd quarter worth $102,000. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Optical Cable by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,600 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Round Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Optical Cable in the 4th quarter worth $139,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Optical Cable by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,773 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Optical Cable Company Profile

Optical Cable Corporation (NASDAQ: OCC) is a publicly traded designer and manufacturer of optical fiber and copper communications cable solutions. Headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, the company develops a broad range of standard and custom cable assemblies, connectors, hardware and accessories. Its product portfolio addresses data transmission requirements in demanding environments, including long-haul telecommunications, industrial automation, defense systems and submersible applications.

The company’s offerings are organized across multiple product lines, encompassing outside-plant fiber optic cable for aerial and underground installations, indoor/outdoor copper connectivity and specialty engineered cable assemblies.