Short Interest in Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) Increases By 33.2%

Garmin Ltd. (NYSE:GRMN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,028,012 shares, a growth of 33.2% from the January 15th total of 2,273,607 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 968,298 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 968,298 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Patrick Desbois sold 3,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total transaction of $773,851.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 61,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,002,299.20. This represents a 5.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas G. Boessen sold 2,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.26, for a total transaction of $512,556.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,916 shares in the company, valued at $5,964,214.16. This trade represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,594 shares of company stock valued at $3,437,592 in the last quarter. 15.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GRMN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Garmin by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,197,564 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,973,044,000 after acquiring an additional 499,235 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Garmin by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,250,844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,785,304,000 after purchasing an additional 126,677 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Garmin by 6.4% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 5,892,150 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,229,810,000 after purchasing an additional 356,161 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Garmin by 1.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,606,511 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $958,405,000 after buying an additional 59,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Garmin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.60% of the company’s stock.

Garmin Stock Performance

Garmin stock traded up $11.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $214.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,556,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,491. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.00. Garmin has a 1-year low of $169.26 and a 1-year high of $261.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Garmin in a report on Friday, December 19th. Longbow Research upgraded Garmin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Garmin in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays upgraded shares of Garmin from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $217.00 in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Garmin from $193.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Garmin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.40.

Garmin Company Profile

Garmin Ltd. is a technology company best known for designing and manufacturing navigation, communication and information devices that leverage global positioning system (GPS) technology. The company serves a diverse set of markets including consumer fitness and wearables, automotive navigation, aviation avionics, marine electronics and outdoor handheld devices. Garmin’s products combine hardware, mapping and software services to deliver location-aware solutions for personal, recreational and professional uses.

Garmin’s product lineup includes wearable fitness and multisport watches (Forerunner, Fenix, Venu), cycling computers and accessories (Edge, Varia), handheld and handheld-mounted GPS devices for outdoor activities, automotive and portable navigation units, marine chartplotters and fishfinders, and certified avionics for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.