Short Interest in GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) Increases By 76.5%

GrafTech International Ltd. (NYSE:EAF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 999,086 shares, a growth of 76.5% from the June 15th total of 566,195 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 559,802 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GrafTech International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EAF. Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of GrafTech International during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in GrafTech International in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new stake in GrafTech International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. AEGON USA Investment Management LLC bought a new position in GrafTech International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of GrafTech International by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EAF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of GrafTech International in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of GrafTech International from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GrafTech International from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of GrafTech International in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on GrafTech International from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.67.

GrafTech International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EAF opened at $7.39 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.39. GrafTech International has a 1 year low of $4.92 and a 1 year high of $20.32. The firm has a market cap of $192.51 million, a PE ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 1.84.

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($2.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.25) by ($0.80). The business had revenue of $125.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.60 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that GrafTech International will post -6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About GrafTech International

GrafTech International (NYSE: EAF) is a leading global manufacturer of graphite electrodes and other specialty graphite products used primarily in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) for steel production. The company’s core offerings include ultrahigh-power, high-power and regular power electrodes, along with related accessories such as graphite shapes and heterogeneous carbon materials. These products play a critical role in steelmaking by conducting the high electrical currents required to melt scrap steel efficiently and with reduced environmental impact compared to traditional blast furnace methods.

With a manufacturing footprint spanning North America, Europe and Asia, GrafTech serves steel producers and foundries worldwide.