Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) Short Interest Up 22.1% in December

Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,680,000 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the November 30th total of 6,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AUTL shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Autolus Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Autolus Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $7.00 to $7.60 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.40.

Autolus Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Autolus Therapeutics stock traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $2.28. The company had a trading volume of 569,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,489,849. Autolus Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $2.07 and a 52 week high of $7.45. The company has a market cap of $606.69 million, a PE ratio of -1.88 and a beta of 1.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.69.

Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.10). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.26) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Autolus Therapeutics will post -0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autolus Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AUTL. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Autolus Therapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Autolus Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Autolus Therapeutics by 2,659.7% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 15,293 shares during the period. Herbst Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Autolus Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Autolus Therapeutics by 63.8% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 38,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 14,959 shares during the period. 72.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.