Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ:DAIO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ:DAIO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,033 shares, a decline of 55.1% from the September 30th total of 15,678 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 23,986 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Red Oak Partners, Llc purchased 373,133 shares of Data I/O stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2.68 per share, with a total value of $999,996.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 242,934 shares in the company, valued at $651,063.12. The trade was a -286.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Data I/O

An institutional investor recently bought a new stake in Data I/O stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ:DAIO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 17,015 shares of the electronics maker’s stock, valued at approximately $67,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.18% of Data I/O at the end of the most recent reporting period. 36.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAIO has been the subject of several recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Data I/O to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Data I/O in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.00.

Data I/O Price Performance

DAIO stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.36. The company had a trading volume of 12,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,564. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $24.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.54 and a beta of 1.43. Data I/O has a 52 week low of $2.16 and a 52 week high of $4.49.

Data I/O (NASDAQ:DAIO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $5.15 million for the quarter. Data I/O had a negative return on equity of 66.83% and a negative net margin of 48.73%. On average, equities analysts predict that Data I/O will post -0.30 EPS for the current year.

About Data I/O

Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ:DAIO) develops and supplies automated programming and security-provisioning systems for electronic devices. Its equipment is used to load software, firmware and other data into semiconductor devices such as flash memory, microcontrollers and programmable logic devices during electronics manufacturing.

The company’s product portfolio includes automated device-programming systems, programming engines, software and related accessories. Its offerings are designed to support high-volume production, improve programming accuracy and help manufacturers manage device security, including the provisioning of keys and other credentials used in connected and embedded products.

Data I/O serves manufacturers and contract manufacturers in industries including automotive electronics, consumer electronics, industrial equipment, telecommunications and other embedded-technology markets.