Astellas Pharma Inc. (OTCMKTS:ALPMY) Short Interest Up 294.1% in December

Astellas Pharma Inc. (OTCMKTS:ALPMY) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 63,309 shares, a growth of 294.1% from the November 30th total of 16,064 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 287,693 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 287,693 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Astellas Pharma from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research cut Astellas Pharma from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Astellas Pharma Stock Down 0.1%

ALPMY opened at $13.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Astellas Pharma has a fifty-two week low of $8.37 and a fifty-two week high of $13.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $12.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.10.

Astellas Pharma (OTCMKTS:ALPMY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.10. Astellas Pharma had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 22.21%. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Astellas Pharma will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

About Astellas Pharma

Astellas Pharma Inc is a Tokyo-based, global pharmaceutical company traded in the United States as an American Depositary Receipt on the OTC Markets under the symbol ALPMY. The company focuses on discovering, developing and marketing prescription medicines in key therapeutic areas, including oncology, urology, immunology, neuroscience and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases. Astellas seeks to bring innovative treatments to market by combining internal research capabilities with external partnerships and collaborative agreements around the world.

Core products in Astellas’ portfolio include the immunosuppressant Prograf (tacrolimus), the overactive bladder treatments Vesicare (solifenacin) and Myrbetriq (mirabegron), and the prostate cancer therapy Xtandi (enzalutamide).