Short Interest in Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARTV) Expands By 109.1%

Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARTV) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 480,579 shares, an increase of 109.1% from the April 30th total of 229,817 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 777,769 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Artiva Biotherapeutics Trading Down 7.9%

Shares of NASDAQ ARTV opened at $6.87 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $8.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.91. Artiva Biotherapeutics has a 1-year low of $1.47 and a 1-year high of $14.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.83 million, a P/E ratio of -1.94 and a beta of 2.38.

Artiva Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARTV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.88) by ($0.07). Equities research analysts forecast that Artiva Biotherapeutics will post -2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Subhashis Banerjee sold 7,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.01, for a total value of $63,403.37. Following the transaction, the insider owned 144,963 shares in the company, valued at $1,306,116.63. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, major shareholder Corp. Gc bought 1,085,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.52 per share, for a total transaction of $12,499,994.88. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 4,391,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,595,482.88. This trade represents a 32.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 7,942,707 shares of company stock valued at $91,499,985 and have sold 53,040 shares valued at $477,890. Corporate insiders own 21.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Artiva Biotherapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth about $79,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth about $58,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth about $67,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics by 14,463.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 118,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 117,733 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARTV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a report on Friday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics from $15.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics from $18.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Artiva Biotherapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

About Artiva Biotherapeutics

Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of allogeneic “off-the-shelf” cell therapies for cancer. The company’s proprietary platform leverages natural killer (NK) cells engineered to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) or other targeting modalities, with the goal of delivering potent anti-tumor activity while minimizing the safety and supply limitations associated with patient-derived (autologous) approaches.

Artiva’s pipeline includes multiple lead product candidates designed to address both hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.