Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $15.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Emergent BioSolutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Emergent BioSolutions Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of Emergent BioSolutions stock opened at $4.74 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $7.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.61. Emergent BioSolutions has a 52-week low of $1.82 and a 52-week high of $15.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.16 and a beta of 1.80.

Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.40. The business had revenue of $194.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $254.67 million. Emergent BioSolutions had a negative net margin of 18.55% and a negative return on equity of 9.91%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.77) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Emergent BioSolutions will post -0.63 EPS for the current year.

Emergent BioSolutions declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 31st that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the biopharmaceutical company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Emergent BioSolutions

In other Emergent BioSolutions news, Director Neal Franklin Fowler sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.83, for a total value of $204,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 101,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $589,413. This represents a 25.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Emergent BioSolutions

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Emergent BioSolutions by 5,458.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 2,893 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Emergent BioSolutions during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Emergent BioSolutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $96,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Emergent BioSolutions in the 4th quarter worth about $98,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Emergent BioSolutions in the 4th quarter worth about $110,000. 78.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.