HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) Short Interest Up 573.5% in May

HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,844,753 shares, a growth of 573.5% from the April 30th total of 570,862 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 39,013,224 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 62.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

HCW Biologics Price Performance

HCWB stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $2.12. 1,998,873 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,624,069. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.15. The company has a market cap of $14.28 million, a PE ratio of -0.22 and a beta of 1.13. HCW Biologics has a 1 year low of $0.25 and a 1 year high of $8.75.

HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.81. The company had revenue of $6.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 million. HCW Biologics had a negative return on equity of 486.87% and a negative net margin of 34.73%.

Insider Activity at HCW Biologics

In other news, Director Scott T. Garrett bought 177,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.41 per share, with a total value of $250,889.76. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 203,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,851.81. This trade represents a 697.65% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in HCW Biologics stock. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 300,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000. Armistice Capital LLC owned approximately 9.15% of HCW Biologics at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HCWB shares. Wall Street Zen raised HCW Biologics to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of HCW Biologics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCW Biologics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

About HCW Biologics

HCW Biologics Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for chronic, low-grade inflammation, and age-related diseases in the United States. The company's lead products include HCW9218, which is in Phase 1 clinical chemo-refractory/chemo-resistant solid tumors with pancreatic, ovarian, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, as well as Phase 2 clinical trial with metastatic advanced stage ovarian cancer patients; and HCW9302 for autoimmune and proinflammatory diseases, such as alopecia areata diseases.