Forte Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBRX) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Forte Biosciences rose 22.7% during March to 892,176 shares (about 6.8% of the float), with a days-to-cover of roughly 3.5 days.
• Institutional investors now own 77.63% of the company, and several funds (including Bank of America, Dimensional, Jane Street and Citadel) have recently added or increased stakes.
• Forte missed quarterly EPS estimates (loss of $1.45 vs. -$1.42 expected), has a market cap of ~$436.6M, and faces mixed analyst views — a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $67 price target while Weiss Ratings maintained a "sell (e+)."

Forte Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBRX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 892,176 shares, an increase of 22.7% from the March 15th total of 727,297 shares. Approximately 6.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 254,336 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forte Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBRX. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Forte Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Forte Biosciences by 5,641.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,158 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in Forte Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $161,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Forte Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Forte Biosciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Institutional investors own 77.63% of the company's stock.

Forte Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of FBRX traded up $0.15 on Thursday, reaching $31.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 201,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 272,492. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.56 million, a P/E ratio of -6.59 and a beta of 3.20. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $28.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.54. Forte Biosciences has a 12-month low of $4.90 and a 12-month high of $35.80.

Forte Biosciences (NASDAQ:FBRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.45) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.42) by ($0.03). Analysts expect that Forte Biosciences will post -12.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Forte Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Forte Biosciences Company Profile

Forte Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative treatments to restore skin health by targeting the underlying biology of the skin barrier and microbiome. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Forte leverages proprietary platforms to discover and advance topical live biotherapeutic products and skin barrier therapies aimed at addressing serious dermatological conditions.

The company's lead product candidate, FB-401, is a topical live biotherapeutic formulation designed to rebalance the skin microbiome in patients with atopic dermatitis.

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