Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JANX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JANX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,410,000 shares, an increase of 43.1% from the November 30th total of 4,480,000 shares. Approximately 13.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 949,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Ventures Xi L.P. Avalon sold 1,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $92,186.86. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,677.42. This trade represents a 22.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. purchased 1,200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $44.75 per share, with a total value of $53,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,317,246 shares in the company, valued at $416,946,758.50. This trade represents a 14.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,843 shares of company stock valued at $5,130,437 over the last quarter. 29.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Janux Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JANX. FMR LLC boosted its position in Janux Therapeutics by 0.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,824,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,475,000 after buying an additional 47,075 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Janux Therapeutics by 40.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,523,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,587,000 after purchasing an additional 721,563 shares during the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP lifted its position in Janux Therapeutics by 400.0% during the second quarter. Logos Global Management LP now owns 750,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,418,000 after purchasing an additional 600,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Janux Therapeutics by 6.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 662,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,107,000 after purchasing an additional 38,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Janux Therapeutics by 190.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 395,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,985,000 after purchasing an additional 259,445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JANX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Janux Therapeutics from $42.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Janux Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Janux Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Janux Therapeutics from $70.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Janux Therapeutics from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.90.

Janux Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ JANX traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $52.50. 522,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 782,518. The company’s 50 day moving average is $54.43 and its 200 day moving average is $47.50. Janux Therapeutics has a one year low of $7.79 and a one year high of $71.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of -44.87 and a beta of 3.29.

Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by ($0.18). Janux Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 10.47% and a negative net margin of 463.91%. The firm had revenue of $0.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 million. Janux Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was down 82.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Janux Therapeutics will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Janux Therapeutics Company Profile

Janux Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops immunotherapies based on Tumor Activated T Cell Engagers (TRACTr) and Tumor Activated Immunomodulators (TRACIr) platforms technology to treat patients suffering from cancer. The company's clinical candidates comprise JANX007, a prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA-TRACTr, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial in adults for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and the vasculature of other tumors; and JANX008, an epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR-TRACTr that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of multiple solid cancers, including colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.