Short Interest in Gritstone bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRTS) Increases By 13.6%

Gritstone bio, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRTS) saw a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,530,000 shares, an increase of 13.6% from the September 15th total of 6,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 6.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Gritstone bio Price Performance

NASDAQ:GRTS traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $0.06. 72,136,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,364,761. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $0.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.65. Gritstone bio has a 1-year low of $0.05 and a 1-year high of $3.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 million, a PE ratio of -0.05 and a beta of 0.49.

Gritstone bio (NASDAQ:GRTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $0.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 million. Gritstone bio had a negative net margin of 910.50% and a negative return on equity of 328.51%. Research analysts expect that Gritstone bio will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities cut shares of Gritstone bio from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1.00 price target (down from $3.00) on shares of Gritstone bio in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Gritstone bio to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $0.50 target price (down previously from $4.00) on shares of Gritstone bio in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gritstone bio

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Gritstone bio during the 1st quarter worth about $63,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gritstone bio in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Klingman & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Gritstone bio in the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Gritstone bio by 85.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 21,271 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Gritstone bio during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 48.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gritstone bio

Gritstone bio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing vaccine-based immunotherapy candidates against cancer and infectious diseases. Its primary product candidate is GRANITE, an individualized immunotherapy candidate, which is in Phase 2/3 clinical trials for the treatment of microsatellite stable colorectal cancers; and has completed Phase 1/2 clinical trials for treating solid tumors.