Invesco Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Emergent Biosolutions Inc. $EBS

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its ownership in Emergent Biosolutions by 51.4% during the 1st quarter, now holding approximately 1.38% of the company valued at $3.6 million.
• Analysts have downgraded Emergent Biosolutions from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, although the stock still holds an average price target of $14.33.
• Insider trading included sales from directors Donald W. Degolyer and Kathryn C. Zoon, who both sold shares, decreasing their positions by 5.39% and 8.98% respectively.

Invesco Ltd. cut its stake in Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS - Free Report) by 51.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 747,959 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 791,948 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.38% of Emergent Biosolutions worth $3,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 198.9% in the first quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 627,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 417,671 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 332,099 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,175,000 after purchasing an additional 14,054 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 22.4% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 375,034 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 68,748 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions in the first quarter valued at about $179,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 28.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 356,281 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 79,034 shares during the period. 78.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Emergent Biosolutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $14.33.

Emergent Biosolutions Price Performance

Emergent Biosolutions stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.29. 898,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,406,032. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.44. Emergent Biosolutions Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.02 and a twelve month 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. The company has a market cap of $442.00 million, a P/E ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 2.03.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathryn C. Zoon sold 7,086 shares of Emergent Biosolutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.87, for a total transaction of $62,852.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 71,799 shares in the company, valued at $636,857.13. This trade represents a 8.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Donald W. Degolyer sold 7,844 shares of Emergent Biosolutions stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 137,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,190,750.35. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Emergent Biosolutions 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.