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

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, a growth of 140.8% from the January 31st total of 560,700 shares. Approximately 7.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 254,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.9 %

RIGL stock opened at $23.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $406.20 million, a P/E ratio of 164.73 and a beta of 1.34. Rigel Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $7.48 and a twelve month high of $29.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.79 and a 200-day moving average of $18.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RIGL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Rigel Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Rigel Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Rigel Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rigel Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David A. Santos sold 2,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.92, for a total transaction of $44,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,220. This trade represents a 3.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Dean L. Schorno sold 2,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.92, for a total value of $42,593.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 58,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,631.48. This trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,113 shares of company stock worth $190,644 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rigel Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $676,000. Soleus Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Soleus Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,130,679 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $19,018,000 after purchasing an additional 195,891 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 63,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 18,159 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 63,128 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 24,400 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,025,000. Institutional investors own 66.23% of the company’s stock.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.