Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 807,500 shares, a growth of 27.1% from the December 15th total of 635,400 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 243,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 16.0 %

NASDAQ RIGL traded up $2.78 on Friday, reaching $20.13. The company had a trading volume of 584,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,690. Rigel Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $7.48 and a 52 week high of $29.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $21.04 and its 200-day moving average is $15.70. The stock has a market cap of $354.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.80 and a beta of 1.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on RIGL. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Rigel Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,429 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,827 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $193,000. Empire Financial Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $231,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $322,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 1,199.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,008 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 19,391 shares during the period. 66.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, engages in discovering, developing, and providing therapies that enhance the lives of patients with hematologic disorders and cancer. The company’s commercialized products include Tavalisse, an oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia; Rezlidhia, a non-intensive monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a susceptible isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test; and GAVRETO, a once daily, small molecule, oral, kinase inhibitor for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic rearranged during transfection (RET) fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer, as well as for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive thyroid cancer.