Emergent Biosolutions Inc. $EBS Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. has reduced its stake in Emergent Biosolutions by 43.2%, now owning approximately 0.57% of the company, valued at about $1.98 million.
• Emergent Biosolutions reported earnings of $0.16 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations despite falling short on revenue, which was $140.90 million against a forecast of $148.55 million.
• The stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Buy" with a price target of $13.50, reflecting optimism from analysts regarding its future performance.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS - Free Report) by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 309,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 235,876 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.57% of Emergent Biosolutions worth $1,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 313.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 833,316 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 631,794 shares during the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 417,671 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 14,054 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Emergent Biosolutions by 12.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,090,655 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,301,000 after buying an additional 121,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 68,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.40% of the company's stock.

Emergent Biosolutions Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of EBS opened at $8.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $474.82 million, a PE ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 2.04. Emergent Biosolutions Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.02 and a 1 year high of $12.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 5.66. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $7.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.57.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Donald W. Degolyer sold 7,844 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.65, for a total transaction of $67,850.60. Following the sale, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kathryn C. Zoon sold 7,086 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.87, for a total transaction of $62,852.82. Following the sale, the director owned 71,799 shares in the company, valued at $636,857.13. The trade was a 8.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on EBS shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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 issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $13.50.

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.

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