Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OESX) Stock Short Interest Climbs 52.0%

Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OESX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 168,300 shares, a growth of 52.0% from the August 31st total of 110,735 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 99,685 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Orion Energy Systems Price Performance

OESX stock opened at $29.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.54. Orion Energy Systems has a 1 year low of $7.84 and a 1 year high of $31.65. The firm has a market cap of $121.36 million, a P/E ratio of -593.60 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.00.

Orion Energy Systems (NASDAQ:OESX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The electronics maker reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $25.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.56 million. Orion Energy Systems had a return on equity of 11.66% and a net margin of 0.04%. On average, equities analysts predict that Orion Energy Systems will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OESX. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Orion Energy Systems by 114.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 130,101 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 69,387 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its stake in Orion Energy Systems by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 525,552 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,593,000 after buying an additional 118,100 shares during the period. Tieton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Orion Energy Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $3,326,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Orion Energy Systems by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 178,469 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,560,000 after buying an additional 43,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Orion Energy Systems by 60.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,140 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 9,058 shares in the last quarter. 52.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on OESX shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Orion Energy Systems in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Orion Energy Systems from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Orion Energy Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of Orion Energy Systems in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Orion Energy Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.50.

About Orion Energy Systems

Orion Energy Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: OESX) provides energy-efficiency solutions for commercial and industrial facilities. The company focuses on helping organizations reduce energy consumption, improve lighting quality and manage building operations through modern lighting and control technologies.

Its offerings include LED lighting fixtures and retrofit systems, connected lighting controls, and related energy-management solutions. Orion also provides design, engineering, installation and project-management services intended to support customers through the transition from traditional lighting systems to more efficient, digitally enabled infrastructure.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Orion serves customers primarily in the United States across sectors such as manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, retail and other large commercial facilities.