Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSC) Short Interest Up 496.0% in August

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 1,140,145 shares, a growth of 496.0% from the July 30th total of 191,291 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 84,955,912 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.0 days.

Insider Transactions at Ensysce Biosciences

In other news, Director Bob G. Gower bought 400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $0.49 per share, for a total transaction of $196,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 916,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,202.60. This trade represents a 77.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ensysce Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ensysce Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ensysce Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. DRW Securities LLC lifted its stake in Ensysce Biosciences by 42.4% during the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 98,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 29,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Ensysce Biosciences by 100.4% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 149,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ENSC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Ensysce Biosciences in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Ensysce Biosciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Ensysce Biosciences Stock Down 4.4%

Ensysce Biosciences stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $0.39. 386,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,585,594. Ensysce Biosciences has a 1-year low of $0.23 and a 1-year high of $2.75. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 million, a P/E ratio of -0.14 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.39.

Ensysce Biosciences (NASDAQ:ENSC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). Ensysce Biosciences had a negative net margin of 280.53% and a negative return on equity of 2,550.30%. The business had revenue of $1.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ensysce Biosciences will post -1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Ensysce Biosciences Company Profile

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel prodrug therapies aimed at improving pain management and addressing opioid misuse. Leveraging its proprietary prodrug platform, the company designs drug candidates that convert into active pharmaceuticals through specific enzymatic action, providing controlled-release profiles and built-in abuse deterrence features.

The company’s lead product candidate, ENS100, is an investigational oral prodrug of hydrocodone engineered to reduce the potential for misuse and abuse compared to immediate-release opioid formulations.