Century Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPSC) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 36.2% in March to 8,626,834 shares (about 5.0% of the stock), implying a short-interest ratio of 6.3 days based on average daily volume.
• Analysts are mixed — four Buys, two Holds and one Sell — resulting in an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.50.
• Shares traded near $2.02 with a market cap of ~$363 million; insiders sold 17,921 shares in the last three months (including a 10,076-share sale by Gregory Russotti) while institutional investors own about 50.2% of the stock.

Century Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IPSC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,626,834 shares, an increase of 36.2% from the February 26th total of 6,332,990 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,376,960 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IPSC shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Century Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Century Therapeutics from $2.00 to $4.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Century Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Leerink Partners set a $2.00 price target on shares of Century Therapeutics and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Century Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.50.

Century Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IPSC traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.02. 1,549,998 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,648,589. The company's 50 day moving average price is $2.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.24. The firm has a market cap of $363.03 million, a PE ratio of -14.43 and a beta of 1.70. Century Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $0.34 and a 52 week high of $3.04.

Century Therapeutics (NASDAQ:IPSC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.04. On average, research analysts predict that Century Therapeutics will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Therapeutics

In other news, insider Gregory Russotti sold 10,076 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.55, for a total transaction of $25,693.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 515,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,314,338.85. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 17,921 shares of company stock valued at $45,458 in the last three months. 4.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IPSC. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Century Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Century Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $38,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Century Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Century Therapeutics by 358.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 111,079 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 86,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Century Therapeutics by 109.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 66,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 34,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.20% of the company's stock.

About Century Therapeutics

Century Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of allogeneic cell therapies for cancer. Utilizing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, the company engineers “off-the-shelf” natural killer (NK) and T cell candidates designed to target hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. By harnessing iPSC-derived immune cells, Century aims to overcome challenges associated with patient-derived therapies, such as manufacturing variability and treatment delays.

The company's proprietary platform integrates gene editing, synthetic biology and scalable cell expansion processes to generate a pipeline of product candidates.

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