Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) Stock Price

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 target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $6.40 to $5.89 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ABSI. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Absci from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Absci from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Absci has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.98.

Absci Price Performance

NASDAQ ABSI traded up $0.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $2.63. 3,852,062 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,557,505. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.24 million, a P/E ratio of -2.80 and a beta of 2.02. Absci has a fifty-two week low of $2.01 and a fifty-two week high of $6.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Absci

In related news, insider Andreas Busch purchased 50,000 shares of Absci stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.04 per share, with a total value of $152,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 327,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $994,882.56. This represents a 18.03% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Absci

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Absci by 22.2% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 366,906 shares of the company's stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 66,556 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Absci by 91.2% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,287 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 5,385 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Absci by 248.0% during the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 108,426 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 77,272 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Absci by 19.4% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,867,669 shares of the company's stock worth $4,800,000 after purchasing an additional 303,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Absci by 24.9% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 59,746 shares of the company's stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 11,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.05% of the company's stock.

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.