Q32 Bio Inc. (NASDAQ:QTTB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Q32 Bio Inc. (NASDAQ:QTTB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,263,602 shares, an increase of 234.3% from the June 30th total of 677,047 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,102,102 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently, 20.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Q32 Bio Stock Down 1.5%

Q32 Bio stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.15. 178,799 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,588,801. The company has a market cap of $256.94 million, a PE ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.24. Q32 Bio has a fifty-two week low of $1.57 and a fifty-two week high of $23.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $12.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 5.36.

Q32 Bio (NASDAQ:QTTB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.14. On average, research analysts predict that Q32 Bio will post -1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on QTTB. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Q32 Bio from $20.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Q32 Bio in a research report on Monday, May 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Q32 Bio in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Q32 Bio in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Q32 Bio from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Q32 Bio presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.33.

Insider Transactions at Q32 Bio

In other news, Director Diyong Xu acquired 1,875,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $15,000,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,502,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,023,896. This trade represents a 115.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Orbimed Advisors Llc bought 1,875,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $15,000,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,502,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,023,896. This represents a 115.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 34.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Q32 Bio

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Q32 Bio in the first quarter worth approximately $68,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Q32 Bio by 140.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 44,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 25,953 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Q32 Bio in the first quarter worth $50,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Q32 Bio during the second quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Q32 Bio during the second quarter worth $69,000. 31.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Q32 Bio

Q32 Bio Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops biologic therapeutics to restore healthy immune balance in patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases driven by pathological immune dysfunction in the United States. Its lead product candidate is ADX-097, a humanized anti-C3d monoclonal antibody fusion protein to restore complement regulation, which has completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of renal and other complement-mediated diseases of high unmet need, including lupus nephritis, immunoglobulin A nephropathy, complement component 3 glomerulopathy, and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.