Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Absci Corporation's shares rose from a previous closing of $3.13 to open at $3.38, with the stock last trading at $3.57, totaling a notable volume of over 3.1 million shares.
• Analyst ratings for Absci have varied, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock to "strong sell," while multiple brokers maintain an overall "buy" consensus with an average target price of $7.98.
• Insider trading activity saw significant purchases, including CAO Todd Bedrick acquiring 10,000 shares, indicating confidence in the company's future despite recent financial challenges.

Shares of Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $3.13, but opened at $3.38. Absci shares last traded at $3.57, with a volume of 3,137,579 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABSI. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Absci from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Absci in a research report on Thursday. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Absci from $6.40 to $5.89 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Absci from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $7.98.

Absci Stock Up 12.6%

The company's fifty day moving average is $2.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.80. The stock has a market cap of $527.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 2.06.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Absci had a negative return on equity of 60.21% and a negative net margin of 2,737.94%.The company had revenue of $0.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Absci Corporation will post -0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Todd Bedrick acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.70 per share, with a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 180,428 shares in the company, valued at $487,155.60. This trade represents a 5.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Menelas N. Pangalos acquired 95,785 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.66 per share, for a total transaction of $254,788.10. Following the acquisition, the director owned 113,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $303,133.60. This represents a 527.02% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 155,785 shares of company stock valued at $433,788. 10.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Absci

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 66,556 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,385 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 77,272 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 303,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.05% of the company's stock.

Absci Company Profile

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.

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