Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN) Short Interest Up 72.4% in December

Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,108,635 shares, an increase of 72.4% from the December 15th total of 4,123,860 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,981,746 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,981,746 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Origin Materials Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:ORGN traded down $0.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $0.20. 826,628 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,674,211. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $0.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.43 and a beta of 0.97. Origin Materials has a 12 month low of $0.19 and a 12 month high of $1.12.

Origin Materials (NASDAQ:ORGN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The financial services provider reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.04). Origin Materials had a negative return on equity of 21.95% and a negative net margin of 275.03%.The company had revenue of $4.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.10 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Origin Materials will post -0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew T. Plavan sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.55, for a total transaction of $82,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,360,231 shares in the company, valued at $748,127.05. The trade was a 9.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 367,200 shares of company stock worth $133,272. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Origin Materials by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,705,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 196,050 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Origin Materials by 112.2% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 75,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 39,856 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Origin Materials by 21.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 111,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 19,950 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Origin Materials by 4.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,552,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 220,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Origin Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 29.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Origin Materials in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

About Origin Materials

Origin Materials, Inc is a cleantech company focused on producing sustainable chemicals and materials from renewable biomass rather than fossil feedstocks. The company’s core technology platform converts wood chips and other lignocellulosic feedstocks into a versatile intermediate called CMF (chloromethylfurfural), which can be further processed into a range of building?block chemicals used in applications such as packaging, coatings and performance fibers. By offering a drop?in alternative to petrochemical precursors, Origin Materials aims to reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact across multiple industries.

The company operates a demonstration facility in Sarnia, Ontario, where it validates its conversion process at scale and produces sample volumes of bio?based intermediates.