Japan Tobacco Inc. (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Japan Tobacco Inc. (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,700 shares, an increase of 42.7% from the March 15th total of 11,000 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 71,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Japan Tobacco Price Performance

JAPAY traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.94. The stock had a trading volume of 36,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 147,825. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.28 and a 200-day moving average of $13.36. Japan Tobacco has a one year low of $11.91 and a one year high of $14.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $53.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.36.

Japan Tobacco (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Japan Tobacco had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 14.74%. The firm had revenue of $4.97 billion during the quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Japan Tobacco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th.

About Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco Inc, a tobacco company, manufactures and sells tobacco products, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods in Japan and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Tobacco Business, Pharmaceutical, and Processed Food. It offers tobacco products, such as cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco products, E-vapor products, fine cut tobacco products, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco products, and hookah and kretek products.