Chimerix, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Chimerix, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRX) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,410,000 shares, a drop of 27.9% from the February 28th total of 4,730,000 shares. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Chimerix Price Performance

Chimerix stock remained flat at $8.50 during trading hours on Friday. 835,696 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,130,045. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.11. The company has a market cap of $797.33 million, a PE ratio of -9.04 and a beta of 0.32. Chimerix has a twelve month low of $0.75 and a twelve month high of $8.53.

Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 21st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $0.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.31 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Chimerix will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CMRX. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.55 price target (up from $7.00) on shares of Chimerix in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $8.55 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Chimerix in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $8.50 price target (down from $10.00) on shares of Chimerix in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Chimerix in a research report on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Activity

In other Chimerix news, CEO Michael T. Andriole sold 7,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total value of $33,312.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 609,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,405.56. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 20,760 shares of company stock worth $91,175 in the last quarter. 13.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bender Robert & Associates purchased a new position in Chimerix in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chimerix in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chimerix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Diadema Partners LP bought a new position in Chimerix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Chimerix in the fourth quarter worth approximately $130,000. 45.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chimerix Company Profile

Chimerix, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines to improve and extend the lives of patients facing deadly diseases. Its pipeline products include ONC201 a program that is in Phase 3 clinical trial for treating patients with H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma, as well as in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of rare neuroendocrine tumors; and ONC206, an imipridone, Dopamine Receptor D2 (DRD2) antagonist, and caseinolytic protease P (ClpP) agonist, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for adult and pediatric patients with primary central nervous system tumors.