Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,520,000 shares, a drop of 24.2% from the March 15th total of 7,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Bank of America cut Origin Materials from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $2.50 to $1.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Origin Materials

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Origin Materials by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,021,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after buying an additional 751,632 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Origin Materials by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,486,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 87,751 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Origin Materials by 193.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,153,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 760,700 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position in Origin Materials by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,095,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 108,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Origin Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $783,000. 29.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Origin Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ORGN traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $0.60. 440,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,552,133. Origin Materials has a one year low of $0.42 and a one year high of $1.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $0.75 and its 200 day moving average is $1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.27 million, a P/E ratio of -1.06 and a beta of 0.99.

Origin Materials (NASDAQ:ORGN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The financial services provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $9.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 million. Origin Materials had a negative return on equity of 21.26% and a negative net margin of 229.52%. Research analysts anticipate that Origin Materials will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Origin Materials

Origin Materials, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a carbon-negative materials company. The company develops a proprietary biomass conversion platform to convert biomass, or plant-based carbon into building block chemicals chloromethylfurfural and hydrothermal carbon, as well as other oils and extractives and other co-products.