Short Interest in Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFCR) Grows By 6.4%

Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFCR) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,500,000 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the December 15th total of 2,350,000 shares. Currently, 7.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.4 days.

Lifecore Biomedical Stock Performance

NASDAQ LFCR opened at $6.48 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $7.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.21. The firm has a market cap of $239.95 million, a P/E ratio of -11.57 and a beta of 0.98. Lifecore Biomedical has a 52-week low of $3.68 and a 52-week high of $8.90.

Lifecore Biomedical (NASDAQ:LFCR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 2nd. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.02. Lifecore Biomedical had a negative return on equity of 315.23% and a negative net margin of 12.52%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lifecore Biomedical will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Paul Josephs bought 17,000 shares of Lifecore Biomedical stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.74 per share, with a total value of $97,580.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 559,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,212,775.58. This trade represents a 3.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 28.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lifecore Biomedical

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Lifecore Biomedical during the second quarter worth about $327,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Lifecore Biomedical by 1,668.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 25,378 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Lifecore Biomedical in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Lifecore Biomedical by 87.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 300,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 139,887 shares during the period. Finally, Legion Partners Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lifecore Biomedical by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legion Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 2,968,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,228,000 after buying an additional 18,182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of Lifecore Biomedical in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Lifecore Biomedical from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Lifecore Biomedical Company Profile

Lifecore Biomedical, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated contract development and manufacturing organization in the United States and internationally. The company engages in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical-grade sodium hyaluronate (HA) in bulk form, as well as formulated and filled syringes and vials for injectable products used in treating a range of medical conditions and procedures.