Short Interest in ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) Grows By 25.2%

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXLS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,020,000 shares, an increase of 25.2% from the February 28th total of 4,010,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of ExlService from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of ExlService from $47.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of ExlService from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded ExlService from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ExlService currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.86.

ExlService Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXLS opened at $48.16 on Thursday. ExlService has a 52-week low of $28.16 and a 52-week high of $52.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.01. The firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 3.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $481.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $475.68 million. ExlService had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 23.23%. Research analysts predict that ExlService will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other ExlService news, EVP Ajay Ayyappan sold 4,989 shares of ExlService stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.70, for a total transaction of $252,942.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,077,990.20. The trade was a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Maurizio Nicolelli sold 13,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total transaction of $675,822.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 194,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,554,781.60. This represents a 6.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,351 shares of company stock worth $2,337,284 over the last 90 days. 4.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ExlService during the 3rd quarter worth $1,543,000. PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new position in ExlService in the third quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in ExlService in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,682,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in ExlService by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 422,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,755,000 after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of ExlService by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 230,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,790,000 after buying an additional 50,399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.92% of the company’s stock.

ExlService Company Profile

ExlService Holdings, Inc operates as a data analytics, and digital operations and solutions company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Insurance, Healthcare, Analytics, and Emerging Business segments. It also provides digital operations and solutions and analytics-driven services, such as claims processing, premium and benefit administration, agency management, account reconciliation, policy research, underwriting support, new business acquisition, policy servicing, premium audit, surveys, billing and collection, commercial and residential survey, and customer service using digital technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced automation; digital customer acquisition services using a software-as-a-service delivery model through LifePRO and LISS platforms; subrogation services; and Subrosource software platform, an end-to-end subrogation platform.