Short sellers have targeted CL recently
Berenberg resumed coverage on Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) with a "sell" rating and $58 price target -- a 15.2% discount to last night's close, and the lowest on Wall Street. Analyst Fulvio Cazzol said CL is "tackling cavities that are too deep to fix," and questioned the consumer product specialist's ability to sustain growth.
In reaction, CL is down 0.6% to trade at $68 -- a level that's served as a floor for the stock since a late-April bull gap. Just below here is Colgate-Palmolive's 320-day moving average, which hasn't been breached on a daily closing basis since March 25. Year-to-date, the shares are still up 14%.
Most analysts share in Berenberg's skepticism, with 10 of 14 maintaining a lukewarm "hold" rating. Plus, the average 12-month price target of $73.18 represents expected upside of just 7% to the equity's current perch.
Short sellers have been ramping up their exposure to the security, too. Short interest spiked 20.7% in the most recent reporting period to 12.85 million shares -- the most since July 2018. The bearish bandwagon is far from full, though, considering these bets account for just 1.5% of CL stock's available float.