Stardust Power Inc. (NASDAQ:SDST) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Stardust Power Inc. (NASDAQ:SDST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 534,184 shares, an increase of 93.1% from the June 30th total of 276,658 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 352,819 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 7.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SDST. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Stardust Power in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stardust Power from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Stardust Power currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Stardust Power Price Performance

NASDAQ SDST opened at $0.74 on Friday. Stardust Power has a 12 month low of $0.70 and a 12 month high of $7.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.78 million, a PE ratio of -0.37 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.65.

Stardust Power (NASDAQ:SDST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.53) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by ($0.14).

Insider Activity at Stardust Power

In other Stardust Power news, CEO Roshen Pujari sold 102,427 shares of Stardust Power stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.18, for a total transaction of $223,290.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 502,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,040.78. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Chris Edward Celano sold 25,975 shares of Stardust Power stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $53,248.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 102,383 shares in the company, valued at $209,885.15. The trade was a 20.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 169,233 shares of company stock worth $358,988 in the last three months. 34.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stardust Power

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SDST. State Street Corp acquired a new position in Stardust Power during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Stardust Power by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 16,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in Stardust Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.79% of the company’s stock.

About Stardust Power

Stardust Power Inc is a vertically-integrated lithium refinery that engages in producing battery-grade lithium. The company was founded in 2022 and is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.