EverQuote, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVER) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

EverQuote, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVER) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,880,000 shares, a decline of 10.5% from the October 15th total of 2,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 518,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

EverQuote Stock Performance

EVER stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.73. The stock had a trading volume of 268,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 473,709. The stock has a market cap of $662.11 million, a PE ratio of 54.62 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.76. EverQuote has a 52-week low of $8.18 and a 52-week high of $28.09.

EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.09. EverQuote had a return on equity of 13.94% and a net margin of 3.31%. The company had revenue of $144.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.40) earnings per share. EverQuote’s revenue for the quarter was up 162.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that EverQuote will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at EverQuote

In other news, CFO Joseph Sanborn sold 4,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.54, for a total transaction of $103,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 207,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,473,664.14. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director George R. Neble sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $48,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,517.40. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,644 shares of company stock worth $349,244. 29.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EverQuote

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its stake in EverQuote by 572.1% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 504,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,631,000 after buying an additional 429,084 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of EverQuote by 165.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 640,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,498,000 after buying an additional 399,257 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of EverQuote by 244,503.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 293,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,448,000 after buying an additional 293,404 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of EverQuote by 331.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 293,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,127,000 after buying an additional 225,700 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of EverQuote by 206.9% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 318,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,903,000 after buying an additional 214,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on EVER. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of EverQuote from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Craig Hallum increased their target price on EverQuote from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. B. Riley reduced their price target on EverQuote from $36.50 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on EverQuote from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EverQuote has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $28.50.

About EverQuote

EverQuote, Inc operates an online marketplace for insurance shopping in the United States. The company offers auto, home and renters, and life insurance. The company serves carriers and agents, as well as indirect distributors. The company was formerly known as AdHarmonics, Inc, and changed its name to EverQuote, Inc in November 2014.