Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,840,000 shares, an increase of 11.0% from the August 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Currently, 7.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rodman & Renshaw reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Emergent BioSolutions in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Emergent BioSolutions in a research report on Friday, August 16th.

Emergent BioSolutions Stock Performance

Emergent BioSolutions stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $6.86. The company had a trading volume of 365,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,723,943. Emergent BioSolutions has a one year low of $1.42 and a one year high of $15.10. The firm has a market cap of $359.48 million, a PE ratio of -0.62 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.63 and a 200 day moving average of $6.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($2.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.97) by ($1.35). Emergent BioSolutions had a negative net margin of 53.26% and a negative return on equity of 34.38%. The business had revenue of $254.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.06) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Emergent BioSolutions will post -1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Emergent BioSolutions

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Emergent BioSolutions by 14.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,411,549 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,631,000 after buying an additional 436,911 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Emergent BioSolutions by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,873,984 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,934 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Emergent BioSolutions by 5.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 946,302 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,454,000 after purchasing an additional 52,144 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Emergent BioSolutions by 240.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 881,893 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,015,000 after purchasing an additional 623,201 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Emergent BioSolutions by 0.6% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after buying an additional 5,042 shares during the period. 78.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Emergent BioSolutions

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.