Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC) Short Interest Up 35.2% in February

Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,230,000 shares, an increase of 35.2% from the February 13th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 483,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on EMBC. BTIG Research upgraded Embecta from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Embecta from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Embecta Stock Performance

NASDAQ EMBC traded up $0.39 on Monday, reaching $13.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 218,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,645. Embecta has a twelve month low of $9.93 and a twelve month high of $21.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.48. The stock has a market cap of $786.90 million, a PE ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.27.

Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.20. Embecta had a negative return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 5.25%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Embecta will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Embecta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. Embecta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Milton Mayo Morris sold 3,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.38, for a total value of $50,778.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $591,858.54. The trade was a 7.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Embecta by 175.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Embecta in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Embecta by 796.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Embecta during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Embecta in the fourth quarter valued at about $77,000. Institutional investors own 93.83% of the company’s stock.

Embecta Company Profile

Embecta Corp., a medical device company, focuses on the provision of various solutions to enhance the health and wellbeing of people living with diabetes. Its products include pen needles, syringes, and safety injection devices, as well as digital applications to assist people with managing patient's diabetes.