Short Interest in AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC) Drops By 21.6%

AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ:AUDC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 275,100 shares, a decline of 21.6% from the July 31st total of 350,700 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 113,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 113,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

AudioCodes Price Performance

AUDC opened at $10.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.58. The firm has a market cap of $283.70 million, a PE ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.93. AudioCodes has a 1 year low of $7.70 and a 1 year high of $12.72.

AudioCodes Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a half year 25 dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 350.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. AudioCodes’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of AudioCodes from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AudioCodes presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AudioCodes

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new position in AudioCodes in the 1st quarter worth about $412,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AudioCodes during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $406,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AudioCodes by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 190,338 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after purchasing an additional 30,611 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of AudioCodes by 24.5% during the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 133,791 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 26,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AudioCodes by 2.5% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 880,250 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,292,000 after purchasing an additional 21,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.05% of the company’s stock.

About AudioCodes

AudioCodes Ltd. provides advanced communications software, products, and productivity solutions for the digital workplace worldwide. The company offers solutions, products, and services for unified communications, contact centers, hosted business services, Voice.AI, and service provider businesses. Its products include session border controllers, life cycle management solutions, VoIP network routing solutions, media gateways and servers, multi-service business routers, IP phones solutions, and value-added applications, as well as professional services.