SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT) Short Interest Update

SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 6,384,341 shares, an increase of 130.9% from the June 15th total of 2,765,204 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,707,709 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMRT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of SmartRent from $1.40 to $1.20 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SmartRent from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SmartRent has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $1.20.

SmartRent Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE SMRT traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $0.93. The stock had a trading volume of 621,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,414,375. The company has a market capitalization of $178.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.17 and a beta of 1.51. SmartRent has a 1-year low of $0.90 and a 1-year high of $2.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.47.

SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $36.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.82 million. SmartRent had a negative net margin of 16.58% and a negative return on equity of 10.61%. On average, research analysts forecast that SmartRent will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at SmartRent

In other SmartRent news, CEO Frank Martell purchased 40,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.13 per share, for a total transaction of $45,493.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 3,225,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,644,844.38. The trade was a 1.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian purchased 75,000 shares of SmartRent stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.11 per share, for a total transaction of $83,250.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 721,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $800,378.82. This trade represents a 11.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 295,260 shares of company stock valued at $339,044 over the last ninety days. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartRent

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of SmartRent during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in SmartRent by 1,900.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,387,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,081,000 after purchasing an additional 5,118,096 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. purchased a new position in SmartRent in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SmartRent by 163.9% during the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,032,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,549,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of SmartRent by 144.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 351,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 207,999 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.42% of the company’s stock.

About SmartRent

SmartRent Inc is a technology company that develops smart home and smart building automation solutions for the residential rental housing industry. Its integrated hardware and software platform enables property managers and owners to remotely monitor, manage and control access, energy use and overall resident experience. The company’s product portfolio includes smart locks, thermostats, leak and flood sensors, door and window sensors, security cameras, and a centralized management dashboard that interfaces with leading property management systems.

SmartRent’s platform is designed to streamline operations for multifamily communities and single-family rental portfolios by automating routine tasks such as digital resident self-showings, remote lease turnovers, package management and preventative maintenance alerts.