HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) Short Interest Up 137.9% in August

HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 34,136 shares, a growth of 137.9% from the August 15th total of 14,348 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 238,774 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCW Biologics

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in HCW Biologics stock. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCW Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HCWB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 300,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000. Armistice Capital LLC owned about 9.15% of HCW Biologics as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 2.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCW Biologics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HCWB opened at $2.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 million, a PE ratio of -0.08 and a beta of 2.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.48. HCW Biologics has a 1 year low of $1.50 and a 1 year high of $36.65.

HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($11.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.98) by ($9.60). The firm had revenue of $0.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.14 million. HCW Biologics had a negative return on equity of 262.33% and a negative net margin of 83.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of HCW Biologics in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCW Biologics to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Maxim Group raised their target price on HCW Biologics from $12.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCW Biologics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.00.

HCW Biologics Company Profile

HCW Biologics Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for chronic, low-grade inflammation, and age-related diseases in the United States. The company's lead products include HCW9218, which is in Phase 1 clinical chemo-refractory/chemo-resistant solid tumors with pancreatic, ovarian, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, as well as Phase 2 clinical trial with metastatic advanced stage ovarian cancer patients; and HCW9302 for autoimmune and proinflammatory diseases, such as alopecia areata diseases.