Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Clear Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) was the target of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,210,000 shares, a decline of 17.2% from the October 31st total of 17,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days. Approximately 18.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on YOU. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Clear Secure in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Clear Secure from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Clear Secure from $34.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Clear Secure from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Clear Secure in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clear Secure presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clear Secure

In other Clear Secure news, Director Alclear Investments Ii, Llc sold 227,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.05, for a total value of $7,049,002.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth L. Cornick sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.30, for a total value of $8,075,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 901,500 shares of company stock worth $29,055,829. 37.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clear Secure

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YOU. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Clear Secure in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,950,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Clear Secure by 30.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,598,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,672,000 after buying an additional 1,547,692 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Clear Secure by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,360,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,381,000 after buying an additional 1,312,419 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Clear Secure by 56.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,954,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066,400 shares during the period. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clear Secure by 303.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 1,199,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,445,000 after acquiring an additional 902,436 shares during the last quarter. 73.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clear Secure Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YOU traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.88. 851,211 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,815,633. Clear Secure has a 12-month low of $16.05 and a 12-month high of $38.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 1.63.

Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.03). Clear Secure had a return on equity of 48.28% and a net margin of 10.93%. The firm had revenue of $198.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $194.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. Clear Secure’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Clear Secure will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Clear Secure Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This is a boost from Clear Secure’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Clear Secure’s payout ratio is presently 46.51%.

About Clear Secure

Clear Secure, Inc operates a secure identity platform under the CLEAR brand name primarily in the United States. Its secure identity platform is a multi-layered infrastructure consisting of front-end, including enrollment, verification, and linking, as well as back-end. The company also offers CLEAR Plus, a consumer aviation subscription service, which enables access to predictable entry lanes in airport security checkpoints, as well as access to broader network; and CLEAR mobile app, which is used to enroll new members and improve the experience for existing members.