Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) Stock Price Up 20.4% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Absci's stock price surged 20.4% to $4.69, recovering from a previous close of $3.90, despite a 26% decline in trading volume compared to the average.
• The company reported a (0.24) EPS for the quarter, falling short of expectations, and has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $7.98.
• Recent insider buying activity includes significant purchases by multiple insiders, signaling confidence in the company's future performance.

Absci Corporation (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 20.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $4.90 and last traded at $4.69. Approximately 3,586,199 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 4,826,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABSI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Absci from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Absci in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Absci in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Absci has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.98.

Absci Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $686.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.89 and a beta of 2.06. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $2.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.84.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Absci Corporation will post -0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Absci news, insider Andreas Busch bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the insider directly owned 327,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $994,882.56. This trade represents a 18.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Menelas N. Pangalos bought 95,785 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.66 per share, for a total transaction of $254,788.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 113,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,133.60. This represents a 527.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 155,785 shares of company stock worth $433,788 in the last ninety days. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABSI. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Absci in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Absci in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Absci in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Absci by 30.6% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,493,865 shares of the company's stock worth $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 350,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Absci by 100.0% in the first quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in 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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