Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) Stock Price Down 3.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Absci Corporation's stock has decreased by 3.5%, trading as low as $3.39, with a notable drop in trading volume of 71% compared to its average.
• Multiple analysts have reassessed their price targets for Absci, with Morgan Stanley reducing its target from $6.40 to $5.89, while others have issued ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Strong Sell."
• Insiders have been buying shares, with transactions increasing their ownership, indicating potential insider confidence in the company's future despite its financial struggles.

Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) traded down 3.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $3.39 and last traded at $3.43. 1,393,300 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 4,727,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on ABSI shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Absci from $6.40 to $5.89 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Absci in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Absci from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Absci in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Absci from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Absci presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.98.

Absci Stock Down 4.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $505.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.60 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.80.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Todd Bedrick bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.70 per share, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer directly owned 180,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,155.60. This trade represents a 5.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andreas Busch acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.04 per share, for a total transaction of $152,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 155,785 shares of company stock worth $433,788 over the last quarter. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Absci

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Absci by 43.8% in the first quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC now owns 303,670 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 92,460 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Absci by 32.5% during the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,955,089 shares of the company's stock worth $27,497,000 after acquiring an additional 2,689,153 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Absci during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,251,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Absci during the 1st quarter valued at about $5,792,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Absci by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,493,865 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 350,036 shares during the last quarter. 52.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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