Groupon Inc (GRPN) Director Sell 500K Shares, Short Interests Also Up

Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) director Bradley A. Keywell, in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28, sold 500,000 shares of the company on the open market, according to a filing with the SEC. As per the record, the shares were unloaded at an average price of $6.17, and the total transaction amounted to nearly $3.1 million. After this sale, Keywell now directly owns 42,043 shares in the company worth $259,405.

Short interest up in Groupon

Short interest in shares of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) has increased in the month of May. As of May 15, total short interest stood at about 61.9 million shares, which is an increase of 13.9% from the April 30 total of around 54.33 million shares. Around 13.6% of the company’s outstanding shares are sold short, and on the basis of an average trading volume of around 26 million shares, the company has a days-to-cover ratio of 2.4 days currently.

For the first quarter, the company posted a 26% rise in revenues, which was above the consensus estimate. Earlier this month, the company recorded a loss of 1 cent per share on revenues of $757.6 million, compared to analysts’ expectations of a loss of 3 cents per share on revenues of $738 million

A volatile stock

In the last month, many analysts have come out with their verdict on Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN). In a research note on Friday, May 9, B. Riley analysts lowered their price target on the coupon company from $8 to $6 per share. Deutsche Bank analysts, in a research note on Wednesday, May 7, maintained their Buy rating on the company but lowered the price target from $12 previously to $8 per share. Analysts at Goldman Sachs lowered their price target on Groupon to $8 in a research note on Wednesday, May 7.

Over all, three analysts have a Sell rating on the stock; seven have rated the stock as a Hold, while eight investment analysts assigned a Buy rating to the company. Presently, the coupon company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $9.75.

Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) shares has been extremely volatile, and year to date, the stock is down around 47%. On Friday, Groupon opened at $5.99, and the company has a 52-week low of $5.18 and a 52-week high of $12.76.