Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Despegar.com, Corp. (NYSE:DESP) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,950,000 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the August 15th total of 6,280,000 shares. Approximately 15.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DESP. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Despegar.com from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Despegar.com in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Despegar.com from $14.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Despegar.com Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Despegar.com stock traded up $0.38 on Wednesday, hitting $12.92. The stock had a trading volume of 538,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 905,598. Despegar.com has a one year low of $6.09 and a one year high of $15.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.36.

Despegar.com (NYSE:DESP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $185.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $184.35 million. Despegar.com had a net margin of 3.30% and a negative return on equity of 62.18%. Equities research analysts forecast that Despegar.com will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Despegar.com

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Despegar.com in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. bought a new position in Despegar.com in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,936,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in Despegar.com in the 2nd quarter valued at $331,000. Sylebra Capital LLC grew its position in Despegar.com by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 2,923,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Despegar.com by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 243,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,219,000 after buying an additional 10,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.93% of the company’s stock.

About Despegar.com

Despegar.com, Corp., an online travel company, provides a range of travel and travel-related products to leisure and corporate travelers through its websites and mobile applications in Latin America and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Travel Business and Financial Services Business.