National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYE – Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,800,000 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the July 31st total of 8,210,000 shares. Currently, 11.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Vision

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EYE. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of National Vision by 43.1% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 7,764,258 shares of the company's stock worth $213,517,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337,112 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of National Vision by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,551,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,444 shares in the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of National Vision by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 3,411,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,638,000 after purchasing an additional 515,072 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of National Vision by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,848,954 shares of the company's stock worth $232,701,000 after buying an additional 492,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Vision by 647.4% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,042 shares of the company's stock worth $14,934,000 after acquiring an additional 470,381 shares during the last quarter.

National Vision Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EYE opened at $33.23 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $31.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.34. National Vision has a 1 year low of $22.59 and a 1 year high of $65.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded National Vision from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Monday, June 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on National Vision from $28.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 17th. Guggenheim increased their target price on National Vision to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on National Vision from $65.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.00.

About National Vision

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National Vision Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America's Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services.

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