Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EBS. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Emergent Biosolutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on shares of Emergent Biosolutions from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Emergent Biosolutions from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Emergent Biosolutions Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE EBS opened at $8.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $427.04 million, a P/E ratio of -29.56 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 4.29 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.67. Emergent Biosolutions has a 1 year low of $5.61 and a 1 year high of $14.06.

Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.46. Emergent Biosolutions had a positive return on equity of 10.76% and a negative net margin of 1.27%.The firm had revenue of $156.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.00 million.

Insider Activity at Emergent Biosolutions

In other news, Director Sujata Tyagi Dayal sold 13,761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.40, for a total transaction of $115,592.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100,563 shares in the company, valued at $844,729.20. This trade represents a 12.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Donald W. Degolyer sold 15,481 shares of Emergent Biosolutions stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.40, for a total value of $130,040.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 129,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,089,656.40. The trade was a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 61,925 shares of company stock worth $518,312 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Emergent Biosolutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Emergent Biosolutions by 68.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,502,488 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,162,000 after buying an additional 1,020,582 shares in the last quarter. Jain Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions during the third quarter worth $4,487,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 22.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,757,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,884,000 after acquiring an additional 504,553 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions during the first quarter worth $3,454,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions in the fourth quarter valued at $3,853,000. 78.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Emergent Biosolutions

Emergent BioSolutions is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing medical countermeasures and specialty products that address public health threats. The company’s portfolio includes vaccines, antibody therapies and critical care products designed to protect against biological, chemical and emerging infectious disease threats. Emergent has longstanding partnerships with government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), to support national preparedness programs.

Key commercial products in Emergent’s lineup include BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed), ACAM2000 (smallpox vaccine) and Vaxchora (cholera vaccine), alongside therapeutic treatments such as Anthrasil (anthrax immune globulin) and the naloxone-based nasal spray Narcan for opioid overdose reversal.