Will Short Sellers Stick With Nutanix?

Pacific Crest is the latest analyst to see big upside in Nutanix Inc NTNX, citing advantages it has over competitors. The firm has an Overweight rating and $38 price target on shares. Oppenheimer recently set a $38 target price as well, along with a Buy rating, calling it an underappreciated top pick. FBN Securities recently initiated it with a $30 target, while the consensus price objective now is $33.35.

Summit Redstone sees things differently, last week reiterating a Sell rating on shares. That may be more in line with the short sellers, who had increased the number of its shares sold short to a post-IPO high as of the most recent settlement date.

This software company saw the number of its shares short jump almost 10 percent to nearly 4.90 million between the December 15 and December 30 settlement dates. That was 32.2 percent of the total float, more than twice the level of short interest last fall. The average daily volume at the end of the year was at a post-IPO low, so it would take about five days to cover all short positions.

Nutanix's first earnings report as a public company topped expectations on the top and bottom lines. The share price ended the two-week short interest period more than 7 percent lower, while the Nasdaq was down a little more than 1 percent. Since the beginning of the year, however, shares are up around 13 percent.