NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

NICE Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,180,000 shares, a drop of 19.0% from the February 13th total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 587,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on NICE from $279.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on NICE from $286.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of NICE in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on NICE from $176.00 to $161.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $215.00) on shares of NICE in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NICE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NICE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NICE. Avion Wealth acquired a new position in NICE during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NICE in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NICE by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 150 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NICE in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of NICE by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 160 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.34% of the company’s stock.

NICE Stock Performance

Shares of NICE traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $151.98. 585,289 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 563,371. NICE has a 12-month low of $137.19 and a 12-month high of $270.73. The company has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $160.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.67.

NICE (NASDAQ:NICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.96 by ($0.71). The firm had revenue of $721.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.47 million. NICE had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 16.18%. On average, research analysts expect that NICE will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current year.

About NICE

NICE Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud platforms for AI-driven digital business solutions worldwide. It offers CXone, a cloud native open platform; Enlighten, an AI engine for the customer engagement market; and smart self service enable organizations to address consumers' needs; and journey orchestration solutions that empower organizations to connect and route customers to deal with the customer's request, and connects them using real time AI-based routing.