Short Interest in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) Declines By 25.8%

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,820,000 shares, a decrease of 25.8% from the October 31st total of 3,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Planet Fitness Trading Down 1.4 %

Planet Fitness stock traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $99.61. 151,797 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,520,545. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.41. The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.11, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.49. Planet Fitness has a fifty-two week low of $54.35 and a fifty-two week high of $102.81.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.23% and a negative return on equity of 107.97%. The company had revenue of $292.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Planet Fitness’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Planet Fitness will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $99.00 price objective (up previously from $91.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Planet Fitness from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $87.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Planet Fitness in a report on Friday, September 27th. They set a “hold” rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Planet Fitness from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Planet Fitness presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Planet Fitness news, insider Jennifer Simmons sold 11,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total value of $1,101,778.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,110 shares in the company, valued at $1,838,382. This trade represents a 37.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Planet Fitness

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLNT. Dorsal Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 2,907,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,940,000 after purchasing an additional 207,193 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Planet Fitness by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,524,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,061,000 after purchasing an additional 37,236 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Planet Fitness in the 2nd quarter worth about $166,978,000. Anomaly Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness in the second quarter worth approximately $106,795,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Planet Fitness by 169.8% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,317,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,985,000 after buying an additional 829,509 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.53% of the company’s stock.

Planet Fitness Company Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.