Annovis Bio, Inc. (NYSE:ANVS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 47.2% in April to 4,760,673 shares (about 20.5% of shares sold short), producing a days-to-cover of 2.6 and signaling significant bearish positioning.
• Insider buying: Director Michael B. Hoffman acquired 713,800 shares at $2.10 (a 27.7% increase in his stake), and insiders now own 20.8% of the company.
• Stock and analyst backdrop: ANVS trades near $1.87 with a ~$54.9M market cap, reported a quarterly EPS loss of $0.39 (miss), and carries mixed analyst coverage with an average "Hold" rating and $13.50 price target.

Annovis Bio, Inc. (NYSE:ANVS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,760,673 shares, an increase of 47.2% from the March 31st total of 3,234,406 shares. Currently, 20.5% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,824,657 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Annovis Bio in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Annovis Bio in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Annovis Bio

In related news, Director Michael B. Hoffman acquired 713,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2.10 per share, with a total value of $1,498,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,288,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,905,931.90. This trade represents a 27.72% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Annovis Bio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Annovis Bio in the fourth quarter worth $91,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Annovis Bio in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Annovis Bio by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 24,400 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in Annovis Bio in the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Annovis Bio in the fourth quarter worth $2,511,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.83% of the company's stock.

Annovis Bio Stock Performance

NYSE:ANVS opened at $1.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.85 million, a PE ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 1.37. Annovis Bio has a fifty-two week low of $1.36 and a fifty-two week high of $5.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.81.

Annovis Bio (NYSE:ANVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 13th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.31) by ($0.08).

About Annovis Bio

Annovis Bio, Inc NYSE: ANVS is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Tampa, Florida, focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders. Leveraging a proprietary platform that targets protein trafficking and translational dysregulation, Annovis aims to restore cellular homeostasis by modulating the production and clearance of disease-related proteins. The company's pipeline is designed to address critical pathways implicated in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and other central nervous system conditions.

The company's lead asset, ANVS401 (Posiphen®), is an oral small molecule that has been evaluated in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials to reduce levels of amyloid precursor protein and its toxic fragments in Alzheimer's patients.

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