Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITCI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITCI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,310,000 shares, an increase of 44.4% from the January 31st total of 1,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ITCI shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $132.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Intra-Cellular Therapies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Intra-Cellular Therapies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $119.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intra-Cellular Therapies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.08.

Intra-Cellular Therapies Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ITCI traded up $3.08 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $131.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,155,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,931,705. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -150.89 and a beta of 0.72. Intra-Cellular Therapies has a one year low of $63.30 and a one year high of $131.35.

Intra-Cellular Therapies (NASDAQ:ITCI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.08). Intra-Cellular Therapies had a negative return on equity of 9.93% and a negative net margin of 14.07%. The company had revenue of $199.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.08 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Intra-Cellular Therapies will post -0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intra-Cellular Therapies

In related news, CEO Sharon Mates sold 51,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.80, for a total transaction of $4,375,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $91,834,228.20. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Intra-Cellular Therapies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Intra-Cellular Therapies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,721,360 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $811,928,000 after buying an additional 93,107 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies by 3.5% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,848,588 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $281,601,000 after acquiring an additional 130,351 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Intra-Cellular Therapies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $268,347,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Intra-Cellular Therapies by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,077,174 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $257,006,000 after acquiring an additional 87,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in Intra-Cellular Therapies by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 2,485,627 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $181,873,000 after acquiring an additional 14,342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.33% of the company’s stock.

Intra-Cellular Therapies Company Profile

Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, clinical development, and commercialization of small molecule drugs that address medical needs primarily in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders by targeting intracellular signaling mechanisms in the central nervous system (CNS) in the United States.