Journey Medical Corporation (NASDAQ:DERM) Short Interest Up 31.3% in March

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 31.3% in March to 3,456,540 shares (about 14.9% of shares short) with a short-interest ratio of 7.2 days, signaling increased bearish positioning.
• Institutional buying has been notable: new stakes from J. Goldman & Co (~$6.16M), Millennium (~$3.53M) and Ikarian (~$1.94M), plus meaningful increases from Wasatch and Geode, while hedge funds own 7.25% of the stock.
• Analyst and financial snapshot: the consensus rating is a "Hold" with a $13 price target, yet the stock trades near $5.30 (market cap ~$145M); the company remains unprofitable despite a slight EPS beat last quarter and a revenue miss.

Journey Medical Corporation (NASDAQ:DERM - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,456,540 shares, an increase of 31.3% from the March 15th total of 2,632,191 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 477,090 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.2 days. Currently, 14.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DERM. J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new stake in shares of Journey Medical in the fourth quarter worth about $6,155,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Journey Medical during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,530,000. Ikarian Capital LLC purchased a new position in Journey Medical during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,939,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in Journey Medical by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,152,059 shares of the company's stock worth $8,272,000 after acquiring an additional 221,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Journey Medical by 130.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 262,353 shares of the company's stock worth $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 148,612 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DERM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Journey Medical in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Journey Medical in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Journey Medical Price Performance

DERM traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.30. 138,842 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 192,196. The company has a market cap of $144.85 million, a P/E ratio of -11.28 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.79. Journey Medical has a 12-month low of $4.31 and a 12-month high of $9.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.60.

Journey Medical (NASDAQ:DERM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $16.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.86 million. Journey Medical had a negative net margin of 18.48% and a negative return on equity of 46.40%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Journey Medical will post -1.02 EPS for the current year.

About Journey Medical

Journey Medical Corp, headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey, is a commercial dermatology company focused on acquiring, developing and marketing prescription dermatology products in the United States. Since its incorporation in 2019, the company has built a portfolio of both branded and generic topical therapies designed to address a range of skin conditions, including acne, atopic dermatitis, fungal infections and inflammatory lesions.

The company's product lineup features antibiotic/anti-inflammatory combinations and corticosteroid-based formulations delivered through proprietary gel, cream and foam vehicles.

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