Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ:ASTC) Short Interest Up 119.7% in August

Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ:ASTC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 110,734 shares, a growth of 119.7% from the July 30th total of 50,402 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 570,653 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days. Approximately 6.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Astrotech Price Performance

NASDAQ:ASTC opened at $7.15 on Monday. Astrotech has a one year low of $1.91 and a one year high of $68.85. The company has a market cap of $15.09 million, a P/E ratio of -0.85 and a beta of 4.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Astrotech

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Astrotech in the second quarter valued at about $120,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP bought a new position in Astrotech during the third quarter worth about $66,000. DRW Securities LLC raised its stake in Astrotech by 168.5% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 31,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 19,747 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Astrotech in the 2nd quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in Astrotech in the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ASTC. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Astrotech in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Astrotech from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrotech presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Astrotech Company Profile

Astrotech Corp. (NASDAQ: ASTC) is a technology commercialization company headquartered near Austin, Texas. The firm sources early-stage innovations from government and university research programs—most notably from NASA—and advances them toward commercial readiness. Astrotech’s core mission is to bridge the gap between federally funded R&D and industrial applications across the life sciences and renewable energy sectors.

In its life sciences division, Astrotech has focused on mass spectrometry-based analytical instruments and diagnostic platforms.