Grifols, S.A. (NASDAQ:GRFS) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 105.0% in September

Grifols, S.A. (NASDAQ:GRFS) saw a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,001,241 shares, an increase of 105.0% from the September 15th total of 3,414,455 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 808,104 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.7 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Grifols Price Performance

Shares of GRFS stock opened at $7.17 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.70. Grifols has a one year low of $6.96 and a one year high of $9.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Grifols by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Grifols by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,958 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Grifols by 50.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,961 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 2,998 shares in the last quarter. Financial Symmetry Inc acquired a new position in Grifols in the third quarter valued at about $73,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in Grifols in the first quarter valued at about $104,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GRFS shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Grifols from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Grifols from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Grifols from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $10.00.

Grifols Company Profile

Grifols SA is a global healthcare company based in Barcelona, Spain, and is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol GRFS. Founded in 1909, the company is primarily focused on developing, manufacturing and supplying plasma-derived medicines and other healthcare products.

Its principal therapies include immunoglobulins, albumin, alpha-1 antitrypsin and coagulation factors, which are used to treat immune deficiencies, respiratory disorders, bleeding conditions and other serious diseases. Grifols operates a network of plasma donation centers, mainly in the United States and Europe, to collect the source plasma used in its medicines.

Grifols also provides diagnostic solutions, including instruments and reagents used in blood typing, transfusion medicine and laboratory testing.