Short Interest in PepGen Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) Grows By 16.2%

PepGen Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 939,900 shares, an increase of 16.2% from the August 15th total of 808,900 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 169,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PepGen news, insider Michelle L. Mellion sold 5,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $106,218.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,682 shares of company stock worth $701,149. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of PepGen

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepGen during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in PepGen in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in PepGen in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $192,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of PepGen during the second quarter valued at $196,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in PepGen by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 18,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 5,002 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PEPG. Bank of America lowered shares of PepGen from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of PepGen in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of PepGen in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

PepGen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PEPG remained flat at $9.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday. 53,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,467. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.70 and a 200 day moving average of $13.58. PepGen has a 52 week low of $3.72 and a 52 week high of $19.30. The stock has a market cap of $297.22 million, a PE ratio of -2.81 and a beta of 1.70.

PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.87) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.15). Equities analysts anticipate that PepGen will post -3.16 EPS for the current year.

PepGen Company Profile

PepGen Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of oligonucleotide therapeutics for use in the treatment of severe neuromuscular and neurologic diseases. Its lead product candidate is PGN-EDO51, an EDO peptide that is in Phase 2 clinical trial to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients.