Short Interest in Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) Grows By 148.9%

Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 324,276 shares, an increase of 148.9% from the July 30th total of 130,308 shares. Approximately 16.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 481,898 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in shares of Curis by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 681,381 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 49,554 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Curis by 17.9% in the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 59,140 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 8,973 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Curis by 8.7% in the third quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 978,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after buying an additional 78,265 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in Curis by 2,883,237.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 230,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 230,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Curis by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 240,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 65,404 shares in the last quarter. 29.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Curis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CRIS opened at $1.51 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.62. Curis has a one year low of $1.40 and a one year high of $39.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 million, a PE ratio of -0.11 and a beta of 3.13.

Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($4.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($6.95) by $2.93. Curis had a negative return on equity of 2,365.94% and a negative net margin of 80.29%. On average, analysts anticipate that Curis will post -24.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research lowered Curis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Curis in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Curis in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Curis from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

About Curis

Curis, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small molecule and antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s research centers on exploiting key signaling pathways and tumor microenvironment interactions to develop compounds with the potential to address unmet medical needs. Curis’ proprietary pipeline includes multiple programs at various stages of clinical and preclinical development, reflecting its emphasis on innovative oncology drug candidates.

Among Curis’ lead assets is CA-4948, an oral inhibitor of interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase 4 (IRAK4) partnered with Ikena Oncology, which is being evaluated in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.