Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) Short Interest Up 16.1% in March

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,700,000 shares, a growth of 16.1% from the March 15th total of 4,910,000 shares. Approximately 11.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Emergent BioSolutions in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

Emergent BioSolutions Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EBS traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $1.95. 858,963 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,787,945. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.30. Emergent BioSolutions has a 12-month low of $1.42 and a 12-month high of $12.01. The stock has a market cap of $102.16 million, a P/E ratio of -0.13 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by ($0.44). The firm had revenue of $276.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $247.63 million. Emergent BioSolutions had a negative return on equity of 37.35% and a negative net margin of 72.11%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.31) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Emergent BioSolutions will post -13.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emergent BioSolutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBS. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Emergent BioSolutions during the 1st quarter valued at $66,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Emergent BioSolutions by 43.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,612 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Emergent BioSolutions in the first quarter valued at about $73,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Emergent BioSolutions during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Emergent BioSolutions by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,796 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. 78.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Emergent BioSolutions Company Profile

Emergent BioSolutions Inc, a life sciences company, provides preparedness and response solutions for accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats in the United States. The company offers NARCAN Nasal Spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; Vaxchora vaccine for the prevention of cholera; Vivotif vaccine for oral administration for the prevention of typhoid fever; Anthrasil for the treatment of inhalational anthrax; BioThrax, an anthrax vaccine; CYFENDUS for post-exposure prophylaxis of disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis; and Raxibacumab injection for the treatment and prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax.