Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,630,000 shares, an increase of 12.4% from the December 15th total of 7,680,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on AUTL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Autolus Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Autolus Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Autolus Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $7.00 to $7.60 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Autolus Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $10.40.

Autolus Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AUTL remained flat at $2.22 on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 805,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,105. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.70 and its 200-day moving average is $3.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $590.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.83 and a beta of 2.05. Autolus Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $2.07 and a 52-week high of $7.37.

Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.10). During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.26) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Autolus Therapeutics will post -0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autolus Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Autolus Therapeutics by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,220,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,919,000 after purchasing an additional 6,330,392 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Autolus Therapeutics by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,773,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,519,000 after purchasing an additional 5,478,706 shares in the last quarter. Great Point Partners LLC grew its position in Autolus Therapeutics by 195.0% in the second quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 3,441,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,977,000 after buying an additional 2,275,000 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Autolus Therapeutics by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 6,250,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Affinity Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Autolus Therapeutics by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Affinity Asset Advisors LLC now owns 4,300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,964,000 after buying an additional 925,000 shares during the period. 72.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Autolus Therapeutics

Autolus Therapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's clinical-stage programs include obecabtagene autoleucel (AUTO1), a CD19-targeting programmed T cell investigational therapy that is in Phase 1b/2 clinical trial for the treatment of adult ALL; AUTO1/22, which is in a Phase 1 clinical trial in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory ALL; AUTO4, a programmed T cell investigational therapy for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma targeting TRBC1 and TRBC2; AUTO6NG, a programmed T cell investigational therapy targeting GD2 in development for the treatment of neuroblastoma; and AUTO8, a product candidate to treat multiple myeloma.