Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AARD) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 23.4% in March to 1,383,335 shares (about 6.4% of the company's stock), leaving a short-interest ratio of 1.7 days based on average daily volume.
• Major institutions have been increasing exposure—Citadel, Laurion, Vanguard and Millennium all added shares, and SymBiosis Capital initiated a new roughly $6.3 million stake.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but overall positive: MarketBeat shows a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $25.09 (1 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell).

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AARD - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,383,335 shares, a decrease of 23.4% from the February 26th total of 1,806,347 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 790,574 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aardvark Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 1,359,883 shares of the company's stock worth $18,073,000 after purchasing an additional 76,151 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP now owns 1,049,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,951,000 after purchasing an additional 60,653 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aardvark Therapeutics by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 555,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,386,000 after purchasing an additional 94,744 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Aardvark Therapeutics by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 483,340 shares of the company's stock worth $6,344,000 after buying an additional 163,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SymBiosis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Aardvark Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $6,255,000.

Aardvark Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ AARD opened at $3.55 on Friday. Aardvark Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $3.35 and a 1 year high of $17.94. The company has a market capitalization of $77.46 million and a PE ratio of -1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $9.89 and a 200 day moving average of $11.56.

Aardvark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AARD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 23rd. The company reported ($0.81) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.81).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AARD has been the subject of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on Aardvark Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a report on Monday, January 12th. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Aardvark Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 12th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aardvark Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.09.

Aardvark Therapeutics Company Profile

Aardvark Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in the discovery and development of small-molecule modulators of the retinoic acid receptor–related orphan receptor gamma (RORγ). RORγ plays a central role in T-helper 17 (Th17) cell differentiation and inflammatory processes. By targeting this transcription factor, Aardvark aims to address a range of autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases.

The company's lead programs consist of selective RORγ inverse agonists designed to suppress pathogenic Th17-driven responses in conditions such as psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic inflammatory disorders.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.