Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,790,000 shares, a drop of 5.7% from the June 30th total of 16,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.6 days.

Editas Medicine Stock Performance

Shares of Editas Medicine stock opened at $5.42 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.53. Editas Medicine has a 12-month low of $4.45 and a 12-month high of $11.69.

Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.63) by ($0.13). Editas Medicine had a negative net margin of 239.36% and a negative return on equity of 47.34%. The company had revenue of $1.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.71) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 88.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Editas Medicine will post -2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Editas Medicine

In related news, EVP Linda Burkly sold 11,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.42, for a total transaction of $64,422.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 73,136 shares in the company, valued at $396,397.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Baisong Mei sold 6,619 shares of Editas Medicine stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.21, for a total value of $34,484.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 134,413 shares in the company, valued at $700,291.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Linda Burkly sold 11,886 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.42, for a total transaction of $64,422.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 73,136 shares in the company, valued at $396,397.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,207 shares of company stock worth $168,768. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Editas Medicine

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Editas Medicine by 401.9% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 4,156 shares during the last quarter. Hoylecohen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Editas Medicine in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Editas Medicine in the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. Aries Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Editas Medicine in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Editas Medicine by 481.7% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 9,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 7,861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Editas Medicine from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Editas Medicine from $15.00 to $7.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Editas Medicine from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Editas Medicine in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Editas Medicine from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $7.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Editas Medicine currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.90.

About Editas Medicine

Editas Medicine, Inc, a clinical stage genome editing company, focuses on developing transformative genomic medicines to treat a range of serious diseases. It develops a proprietary gene editing platform based on CRISPR technology. The company develops EDIT-101, which is in Phase 1/2 BRILLIANCE trial for Leber Congenital Amaurosis; and reni-cel, a clinical development gene-edited medicine to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.