Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 34,955 shares, an increase of 169.2% from the June 30th total of 12,986 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 149,346 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Japan Tob from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. BTIG Research started coverage on Japan Tob in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Japan Tob presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.00.

Japan Tob Price Performance

OTCMKTS:JAPAY traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.59. 5,721 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,727. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 0.29. Japan Tob has a 1-year low of $14.27 and a 1-year high of $20.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Japan Tob (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Research analysts expect that Japan Tob will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Japan Tob

Japan Tobacco Inc (OTC: JAPAY) is a Tokyo-based multinational company primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. The company’s core activities include the development, production and distribution of cigarettes and other nicotine-delivery products for domestic and international markets. Japan Tobacco also pursues business activities beyond tobacco, including pharmaceutical and processed‑food operations through subsidiary units and strategic investments.

In its tobacco operations the company serves both the Japanese market and a broad international footprint through its global operating arm, Japan Tobacco International (JTI).