CPI Card Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PMTS) Short Interest Update

CPI Card Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PMTS) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 92,100 shares, an increase of 26.0% from the April 30th total of 73,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 46,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at CPI Card Group

In related news, Chairman H Sanford Riley purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.51 per share, for a total transaction of $322,650.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 19,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,468.66. This represents a 302.05% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CPI Card Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CPI Card Group by 317.4% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 34,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 26,264 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in CPI Card Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in CPI Card Group by 4,014.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 4,175 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of CPI Card Group by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 23,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of CPI Card Group by 703.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 18,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares during the period. 22.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CPI Card Group Price Performance

Shares of PMTS stock opened at $21.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $241.75 million, a P/E ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.77. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.22. CPI Card Group has a one year low of $18.46 and a one year high of $35.19.

CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $122.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.90 million. CPI Card Group had a net margin of 3.38% and a negative return on equity of 46.90%. On average, research analysts expect that CPI Card Group will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PMTS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CPI Card Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of CPI Card Group from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Lake Street Capital decreased their price objective on shares of CPI Card Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of CPI Card Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on CPI Card Group from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.75.

About CPI Card Group

CPI Card Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, production, data personalization, packaging, and fulfillment of financial payment cards. It operates through Debit and Credit, and Prepaid Debit segments. The Debit and Credit segment produces financial payment cards and provides integrated card services to card-issuing financial institutions.