Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS) Given "Sell (D)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Emergent Biosolutions has received a "Sell (D)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating poor market performance prospects.
• Despite some analysts maintaining a "Buy" rating, the consensus remains a "Hold" with a price target of $13.50.
• The stock has experienced a minor decline, settling at $9.89 with significant trading volume, and the company reported earnings exceeding expectations with $0.16 per share.

Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d)" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on EBS. Wall Street Zen lowered Emergent Biosolutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.50.

Emergent Biosolutions Stock Down 0.3%

EBS stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.89. 1,049,986 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,136. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $527.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 2.04. Emergent Biosolutions has a 52-week low of $4.02 and a 52-week high of $12.73. The company has a current ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $140.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $148.55 million. Emergent Biosolutions had a return on equity of 24.63% and a net margin of 16.38%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Emergent Biosolutions will post -0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Donald W. Degolyer sold 7,844 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total transaction of $67,850.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 137,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,190,750.35. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kathryn C. Zoon sold 7,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.87, for a total value of $62,852.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 71,799 shares in the company, valued at $636,857.13. This represents a 8.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EBS. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Emergent Biosolutions by 68.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,502,488 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020,582 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Emergent Biosolutions by 108.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,998 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,162,000 after acquiring an additional 666,708 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Emergent Biosolutions by 313.5% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 833,316 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 631,794 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Emergent Biosolutions by 198.9% during the first quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 627,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,050,000 after acquiring an additional 417,671 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Emergent Biosolutions by 232.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 309,947 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,977,000 after acquiring an additional 216,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.40% of the company's stock.

Emergent Biosolutions Company Profile

Emergent BioSolutions Inc, a life sciences company, provides preparedness and response solutions for accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats in the United States. The company offers NARCAN Nasal Spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; Vaxchora vaccine for the prevention of cholera; Vivotif vaccine for oral administration for the prevention of typhoid fever; Anthrasil for the treatment of inhalational anthrax; BioThrax, an anthrax vaccine; CYFENDUS for post-exposure prophylaxis of disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis; and Raxibacumab injection for the treatment and prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax.

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