Xcel Brands, Inc (NASDAQ:XELB) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Xcel Brands, Inc (NASDAQ:XELB) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 24,695 shares, a drop of 48.2% from the April 30th total of 47,714 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 16,366 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Xcel Brands Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XELB opened at $2.17 on Monday. Xcel Brands has a one year low of $0.74 and a one year high of $3.17. The firm has a market cap of $13.13 million, a PE ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1.90 and a 200 day moving average of $1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Xcel Brands (NASDAQ:XELB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The textile maker reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.64) by $0.22. Xcel Brands had a negative net margin of 361.04% and a negative return on equity of 83.71%. The business had revenue of $1.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Xcel Brands will post -1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Potomac Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $441,000. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $88,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Brands by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 34,434 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 17,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Xcel Brands from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.00.

Xcel Brands Company Profile

Xcel Brands, Inc (NASDAQ: XELB) is a lifestyle brand management company that acquires, develops and markets consumer product brands spanning fashion, entertainment and home categories. The company works with designers, celebrities and entertainment properties to create branded apparel, accessories, jewelry and home décor collections. Its portfolio includes licensed and proprietary brands such as Judith Ripka, Isaac Mizrahi and Simple Joys by Carter’s, among others.

The company’s business model centers on sourcing creative talent and intellectual property, then leveraging an in-house product development team to design collections that are manufactured by third-party partners.