Short Interest in Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAX) Expands By 24.2%

Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the December 15th total of 1,530,000 shares. Approximately 11.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 329,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Praxis Precision Medicines news, insider Lauren Mastrocola sold 5,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.78, for a total value of $424,274.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,613 shares in the company, valued at $459,031.14. This represents a 48.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Alex Nemiroff sold 8,239 shares of Praxis Precision Medicines stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $660,767.80. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 10,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,140.20. This represents a 44.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Praxis Precision Medicines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Praxis Precision Medicines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines by 35.9% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines during the third quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in the third quarter valued at $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.84% of the company’s stock.

Praxis Precision Medicines Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:PRAX traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.54. 293,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,044. Praxis Precision Medicines has a twelve month low of $33.01 and a twelve month high of $86.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 2.66.

Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($2.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.01) by ($0.74). Praxis Precision Medicines had a negative return on equity of 54.86% and a negative net margin of 9,409.22%. The firm had revenue of $0.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.70) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Praxis Precision Medicines will post -10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRAX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price target on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Praxis Precision Medicines from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Praxis Precision Medicines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.33.

Praxis Precision Medicines Company Profile

Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapies for central nervous system disorders characterized by neuronal excitation-inhibition imbalance. It is developing ulixacaltamide, a small molecule inhibitor of T-type calcium channels that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of essential tremor; PRAX-562 for the treatment of pediatric patients with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE); and PRAX-628 to treat focal epilepsy.