Bicycle Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BCYC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 14.9% in April to 2,635,218 shares (about 4.9% of shares sold short) with a days-to-cover ratio of 5.9, signaling elevated bearish bets and potential squeeze risk.
• Q1 results missed expectations: Bicycle reported EPS of ($0.87) versus consensus ($0.62) and revenue of $0.89M versus $7.5M expected, along with a negative net margin and return on equity.
• CEO Kevin Lee sold 5,967 shares on April 2 to cover tax withholding, and company insiders continue to hold a significant stake of 22.90%.

Bicycle Therapeutics PLC Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:BCYC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,635,218 shares, a growth of 14.9% from the March 31st total of 2,292,727 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 444,618 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bicycle Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Kevin Lee sold 5,967 shares of Bicycle Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.91, for a total value of $29,297.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 613,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,009,972.39. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 9,992 shares of company stock valued at $49,363 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bicycle Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BCYC. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Bicycle Therapeutics by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bicycle Therapeutics by 234.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 4,655 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 3,262 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Bicycle Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Bicycle Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Bicycle Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 86.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BCYC shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Bicycle Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bicycle Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Truist Financial set a $8.00 price target on shares of Bicycle Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Bicycle Therapeutics from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Bicycle Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bicycle Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.00.

Bicycle Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ BCYC opened at $4.72 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $5.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.03 million, a P/E ratio of -1.49 and a beta of 1.65. Bicycle Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $4.24 and a fifty-two week high of $9.55.

Bicycle Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BCYC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.87) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.62) by ($0.25). Bicycle Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 33.21% and a negative net margin of 301.66%.The company had revenue of $0.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bicycle Therapeutics will post -1.86 EPS for the current year.

Bicycle Therapeutics Company Profile

Bicycle Therapeutics plc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in the discovery and development of novel peptide therapeutics based on its proprietary bicyclic peptide platform. The company's core technology leverages constrained peptide structures that combine the binding specificity of biologics with the favorable tissue-penetration properties of small molecules. This approach is designed to generate highly selective drug candidates with potential applications across a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, neuroscience and immunology.

Bicycle Therapeutics maintains a diversified pipeline of internally developed programs as well as collaborations with leading pharmaceutical partners.

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