Precision Optics Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:POCI) Short Interest Up 180.5% in March

Precision Optics Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:POCI) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,500 shares, a growth of 180.5% from the February 28th total of 4,100 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 11,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Precision Optics in the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Precision Optics by 95.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 25,530 shares during the last quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC lifted its stake in shares of Precision Optics by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 247,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after buying an additional 9,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Precision Optics by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 33,283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Precision Optics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:POCI opened at $4.13 on Friday. Precision Optics has a one year low of $3.47 and a one year high of $6.90. The firm has a market cap of $31.54 million, a PE ratio of -6.45 and a beta of 0.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Precision Optics (NASDAQ:POCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter. Precision Optics had a negative net margin of 21.46% and a negative return on equity of 39.17%. The firm had revenue of $4.53 million for the quarter.

About Precision Optics

Precision Optics Corporation, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells specialized optical and illumination systems and related components primarily in the United States and the European Economic Area. It offers medical instrumentation products, including endoscopes and endocouplers, as well as other custom imaging and illumination products, such as Microprecision lenses and micro medical cameras, and 3D endoscopes for use in minimally invasive surgical procedures by hospitals and physicians.