Passage Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:PASG) Short Interest Up 718.3% in February

Passage Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:PASG) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 91,808 shares, a growth of 718.3% from the January 29th total of 11,220 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 49,731 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 49,731 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Passage Bio in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Chardan Capital assumed coverage on Passage Bio in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.67.

Passage Bio Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:PASG traded up $0.46 on Friday, reaching $9.12. The company had a trading volume of 14,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,262. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.99 million, a PE ratio of -0.63 and a beta of 1.72. Passage Bio has a 52-week low of $5.12 and a 52-week high of $20.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Passage Bio news, CEO William Chou sold 4,076 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $75,161.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,302.56. The trade was a 38.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nano Cap New Millennium Growth Fund L P purchased a new stake in shares of Passage Bio during the fourth quarter worth about $118,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Passage Bio in the 4th quarter worth approximately $148,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Passage Bio during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $188,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Passage Bio by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 31,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 4,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yiheng Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Passage Bio in the fourth quarter worth $405,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.48% of the company’s stock.

Passage Bio Company Profile

Passage Bio is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of gene therapies to treat rare, monogenic central nervous system and neuromuscular disorders. The company applies its in-house gene therapy platform to design and engineer adeno-associated virus (AAV)–based vectors that restore or replace defective genes, aiming to deliver durable treatments with a single administration.

The company’s lead programs include PBGM01, an AAV9-based therapy for GM2 gangliosidoses (Tay–Sachs and Sandhoff diseases), which is conducting a first-in-human study to assess safety and potential therapeutic benefit.