Oncobiologics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OTLK) Short Interest Up 78.0% in July

Oncobiologics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OTLK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 20,013,892 shares, an increase of 78.0% from the July 15th total of 11,240,969 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,337,663 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 13.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ghiath M. Sukhtian acquired 2,525,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $0.99 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,999.48. Following the acquisition, the director owned 24,617,320 shares in the company, valued at $24,371,146.80. This trade represents a 11.43% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Faisal Ghiath Sukhtian bought 95,398 shares of Oncobiologics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.05 per share, with a total value of $100,167.90. Following the purchase, the director owned 220,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,020.60. This trade represents a 75.97% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 11,189,359 shares of company stock valued at $7,662,666. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oncobiologics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OTLK. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oncobiologics by 74.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 103,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 44,063 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Oncobiologics by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 84,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 25,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Oncobiologics by 865.2% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 24,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 21,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OTLK has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Oncobiologics in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Oncobiologics from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Oncobiologics to $1.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Ascendiant Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Oncobiologics from $6.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oncobiologics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.65.

Oncobiologics Price Performance

Shares of OTLK traded up $0.00 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $0.76. The company had a trading volume of 8,510,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,056,415. Oncobiologics has a twelve month low of $0.16 and a twelve month high of $3.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.31 and its 200-day moving average is $0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $113.08 million, a P/E ratio of -0.99 and a beta of 0.82.

Oncobiologics (NASDAQ:OTLK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $0.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.97 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Oncobiologics will post -0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Oncobiologics

Oncobiologics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of biosimilar therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Leveraging recombinant DNA technology and advanced formulation platforms, the company aims to create high-quality, cost-effective alternatives to originator biologic drugs. Oncobiologics’ research focus includes monoclonal antibodies and growth factors that support oncology treatment and immunomodulation.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, Oncobiologics maintains research facilities in the Greater Boston area and an integrated manufacturing site in Hyderabad, India, through its wholly owned subsidiary.