HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,844,753 shares, a growth of 573.5% from the April 30th total of 570,862 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 39,013,224 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 62.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at HCW Biologics

In other HCW Biologics news, Director Scott T. Garrett purchased 177,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.41 per share, for a total transaction of $250,889.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 203,441 shares in the company, valued at $286,851.81. The trade was a 697.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCW Biologics

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in HCW Biologics stock. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 300,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000. Armistice Capital LLC owned approximately 9.15% of HCW Biologics as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of HCW Biologics from $2.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCW Biologics to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of HCW Biologics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.00.

HCW Biologics Stock Down 5.3%

NASDAQ:HCWB opened at $1.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.21 and a beta of 1.13. HCW Biologics has a 1-year low of $0.25 and a 1-year high of $8.75.

HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.81. HCW Biologics had a negative net margin of 34.73% and a negative return on equity of 486.87%. The company had revenue of $6.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 million.

HCW Biologics Company Profile

HCW Biologics Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for chronic, low-grade inflammation, and age-related diseases in the United States. The company's lead products include HCW9218, which is in Phase 1 clinical chemo-refractory/chemo-resistant solid tumors with pancreatic, ovarian, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, as well as Phase 2 clinical trial with metastatic advanced stage ovarian cancer patients; and HCW9302 for autoimmune and proinflammatory diseases, such as alopecia areata diseases.