Aptose Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:APTO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Aptose Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:APTO) (TSE:APS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 77,000 shares, a growth of 13.1% from the May 15th total of 68,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 66,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APTO. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Aptose Biosciences in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Aptose Biosciences from $15.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Aptose Biosciences in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Aptose Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.83.

Aptose Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APTO traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $0.92. 72,501 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 81,044. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.72. Aptose Biosciences has a 52-week low of $0.85 and a 52-week high of $5.86.

Aptose Biosciences (NASDAQ:APTO) (TSE:APS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.73) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.82) by $0.09. Equities research analysts forecast that Aptose Biosciences will post -2.67 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aptose Biosciences

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Aptose Biosciences stock. Annandale Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aptose Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:APTO) (TSE:APS) by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,666 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,334 shares during the quarter. Annandale Capital LLC owned approximately 0.99% of Aptose Biosciences worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 26.62% of the company’s stock.

About Aptose Biosciences

Aptose Biosciences Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops personalized therapies addressing unmet medical needs in oncology in Canada. Its lead clinical program is APTO-253, which is a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies.