Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) Given "Buy" Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company reaffirmed a "Buy" rating on Absci with a $7 target, implying roughly a 132.6% upside and aligning with MarketBeat's average analyst target near $7.08 and a "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• Absci missed Q4 estimates, reporting EPS of ($0.20) versus consensus (~$0.16) and revenue of $0.65M versus ~$1.38M, leaving the company with steep negative margins and continued near‑term financial pressure.
• Insider Andreas Busch bought 100,000 shares at $2.29 while the CEO sold a smaller stake, and institutional investors (including State Street, ARK, and Price T. Rowe) materially increased positions — institutions now own about 52% and insiders about 10.5% of the stock.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $7.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would suggest a potential upside of 132.56% from the company's current price.

ABSI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Absci from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $4.32 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Absci from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Absci in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.08.

Absci Stock Up 2.7%

NASDAQ:ABSI opened at $3.01 on Wednesday. Absci has a fifty-two week low of $2.01 and a fifty-two week high of $5.23. The stock has a market cap of $452.61 million, a PE ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 2.12. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $2.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.21.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $0.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 million. Absci had a negative net margin of 4,071.19% and a negative return on equity of 60.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that Absci will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Absci news, insider Andreas Busch purchased 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.29 per share, for a total transaction of $229,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 421,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $965,111.34. This trade represents a 31.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sean Mcclain sold 26,761 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.99, for a total transaction of $80,015.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,334,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,920,355.33. This trade represents a 0.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Absci

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Absci by 190.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,990,877 shares of the company's stock worth $20,908,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925,926 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Absci in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,201,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Absci during the 4th quarter worth about $7,450,000. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Absci by 21.1% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 12,162,773 shares of the company's stock worth $36,975,000 after buying an additional 2,116,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Absci by 2,955.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,156,067 shares of the company's stock worth $7,526,000 after buying an additional 2,085,501 shares in the last quarter. 52.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Absci News

Here are the key news stories impacting Absci this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Clinical progress: Absci reported successful dosing of the first three SAD cohorts in the ABS-201 HEADLINE trial with favorable emerging safety data — a tangible development that de‑risks the program and supports long‑term value for a drug‑discovery company. Absci Reports Business Updates and Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial and Operating Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management narrative: Earnings‑call coverage highlights strategic advances and commentary on business priorities and cash/resource allocation that investors view as constructive for execution and partner interest. Absci Corp (ABSI) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Advances and Financial Resilience
• Neutral Sentiment: Full transcript available: The complete earnings‑call transcript provides detail on milestones, timelines and partnering discussions — useful for active investors but not an immediate catalyst by itself. Absci Corporation (ABSI) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data flagged as a “significant increase” in multiple reports but the underlying figures show zeros/NaN — the data appears unreliable and should be treated cautiously; no clear short squeeze/coverage signal. (Multiple short‑interest entries dated March 23–24.)
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings and revenue miss: ABSI reported Q4 EPS of ($0.20) vs. consensus (~($0.16)) and revenue of $0.65M vs. ~$1.38M — the miss and continued losses keep near‑term financials pressured and justify analyst caution. Absci Corporation (ABSI) Reports Q4 Loss, Misses Revenue Estimates

Absci Company Profile

Absci Corporation NASDAQ: ABSI is a biotechnology company that applies machine learning, synthetic biology and automation to accelerate the discovery and development of protein-based therapeutics. The company's Integrated Drug Creation® (IDC®) platform is designed to identify and produce novel antibody and enzyme candidates at speeds and scales that traditional biopharma discovery methods cannot match. Absci works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners to generate, screen and optimize protein molecules for a wide range of therapeutic applications.

The core of Absci's offering is its end-to-end discovery engine, which combines proprietary algorithms, high-throughput laboratory automation and a deep learning framework.

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