Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) Price Target Cut to $5.89 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) from $6.40 to $5.89, maintaining an "overweight" rating which suggests a potential upside of 101.02% from the company's previous close.
• Absci reported a quarterly loss of ($0.24) EPS, missing expectations, with revenue of just $0.59 million compared to forecasts of $1.39 million.
• Institutional investors currently hold 52.05% of Absci's stock, with notable recent increases in stakes from ARK Investment Management and Geode Capital Management.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $6.40 to $5.89 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Absci from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Absci from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.98.

Absci Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of ABSI traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $2.57. The stock had a trading volume of 3,689,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,550,841. Absci has a 12 month low of $2.01 and a 12 month high of $6.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.13. The company has a market capitalization of $384.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 2.02.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.05). Absci had a negative return on equity of 60.21% and a negative net margin of 2,737.94%.The firm had revenue of $0.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Absci will post -0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andreas Busch acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.04 per share, for a total transaction of $152,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 327,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $994,882.56. The trade was a 18.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Absci

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Absci by 43.8% during the 1st quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 303,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 92,460 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Absci by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,955,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,497,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,153 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Absci by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 899,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 443,410 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Absci during the 1st quarter valued at $5,792,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Absci during the 4th quarter valued at $508,000. 52.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Absci

Absci Corporation operates as a data-first generative artificial intelligence (AI) drug creation company in the United States. The company combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create biologics for patients. Its integrated drug creation platform is designed to improve upon traditional biologic drug discovery by using AI to simultaneously optimize multiple drug characteristics that may be important to development and therapeutic benefit.