electroCore, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECOR) Short Interest Up 80.0% in July

electroCore, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECOR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 367,579 shares, a growth of 80.0% from the June 30th total of 204,261 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 106,502 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Errico purchased 9,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.99 per share, for a total transaction of $59,852.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 360,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,156,825.29. The trade was a 2.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Joshua S. Lev sold 6,667 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.00, for a total transaction of $60,003.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,001. This represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On electroCore

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of electroCore during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in electroCore by 20.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 24,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 4,231 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in electroCore in the first quarter valued at $153,000. WealthShield Partners LLC acquired a new stake in electroCore in the first quarter valued at $157,000. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in electroCore by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 52,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. 26.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

electroCore Stock Performance

ECOR stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $6.29. The company had a trading volume of 40,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,603. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.99. The company has a market capitalization of $56.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.55 and a beta of 0.88. electroCore has a fifty-two week low of $4.16 and a fifty-two week high of $10.49.

electroCore (NASDAQ:ECOR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $9.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.01 million. electroCore had a negative net margin of 44.08% and a negative return on equity of 1,956.38%. As a group, analysts predict that electroCore will post -1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of electroCore in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

electroCore Company Profile

electroCore, Inc is a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company headquartered in Rockaway, New Jersey. The company specializes in the development and commercialization of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) therapies designed to address a variety of neurological and inflammatory conditions. Established in 2006, electroCore has focused its efforts on translating neuromodulation science into a compact, patient-administered treatment device.

The company’s lead product, gammaCore®, is a handheld, battery-powered device that delivers nVNS through the skin to the cervical branch of the vagus nerve.