Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 4,118,629 shares, an increase of 80.8% from the June 15th total of 2,277,827 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,185,952 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALTO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright upped their target price on Alto Ingredients from $5.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alto Ingredients from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alto Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alto Ingredients presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Alto Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of ALTO opened at $5.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $452.54 million, a PE ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.81 and a quick ratio of 2.54. Alto Ingredients has a 1-year low of $0.92 and a 1-year high of $6.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $5.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.22.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.13. Alto Ingredients had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 3.20%.The company had revenue of $224.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.65 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alto Ingredients will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alto Ingredients

In other Alto Ingredients news, Director Gilbert E. Nathan acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.61 per share, for a total transaction of $92,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 769,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,548,506.01. This trade represents a 2.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alto Ingredients in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in Alto Ingredients in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Alto Ingredients in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alto Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alto Ingredients Company Profile

Alto Ingredients, Inc (NASDAQ: ALTO) is a diversified producer of alcohol-based products and specialty ingredients for industrial, food, beverage and personal care applications. The company’s core offering centers on ethanol produced for fuel markets, as well as an expanding portfolio of natural and organic alcohols, glycerin and other ingredient solutions. Alto’s product lines serve a range of end markets, including renewable fuels, confectionery, flavorings, cosmetics and sanitizers.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Alto Ingredients operates a network of production facilities across the United States.