HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) Short Interest Up 573.5% in May

HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,844,753 shares, an increase of 573.5% from the April 30th total of 570,862 shares. Approximately 62.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 39,013,224 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days.

HCW Biologics Stock Up 9.3%

Shares of HCW Biologics stock traded up $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $2.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,998,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,624,069. The company has a market capitalization of $14.28 million, a P/E ratio of -0.22 and a beta of 1.13. HCW Biologics has a 52-week low of $0.25 and a 52-week high of $8.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $0.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.15.

HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $6.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 million. HCW Biologics had a negative return on equity of 486.87% and a negative net margin of 34.73%.

Insider Activity at HCW Biologics

In other HCW Biologics news, Director Scott T. Garrett acquired 177,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.41 per share, for a total transaction of $250,889.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 203,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,851.81. This represents a 697.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCW Biologics

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in HCW Biologics stock. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 300,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000. Armistice Capital LLC owned about 9.15% of HCW Biologics at the end of the most recent reporting period. 2.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCW Biologics to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of HCW Biologics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCW Biologics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

HCW Biologics Company Profile

HCW Biologics Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for chronic, low-grade inflammation, and age-related diseases in the United States. The company's lead products include HCW9218, which is in Phase 1 clinical chemo-refractory/chemo-resistant solid tumors with pancreatic, ovarian, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, as well as Phase 2 clinical trial with metastatic advanced stage ovarian cancer patients; and HCW9302 for autoimmune and proinflammatory diseases, such as alopecia areata diseases.