Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:KPTI) Short Interest Up 20.9% in March

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 20.9% in March to 3,592,118 shares, equal to about 19.9% of shares sold short and a short-interest ratio of 5.0 days (based on average daily volume of 713,792).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but tilted positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.29 (ratings include 1 Strong Buy, 6 Buy, 1 Sell and several recent target revisions).
• KPTI shares traded up 5.1% to $5.57; the company has a market cap of about $102.15M, reported Q4 EPS of -$2.23 (vs. -$2.26 est.) and revenue of $34.08M.

Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:KPTI - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,592,118 shares, a growth of 20.9% from the February 26th total of 2,971,195 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 713,792 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 19.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on KPTI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Karyopharm Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 5th. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Karyopharm Therapeutics from $15.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Karyopharm Therapeutics from $21.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Rodman & Renshaw upgraded shares of Karyopharm Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $12.00 price target on shares of Karyopharm Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Karyopharm Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $14.29.

Karyopharm Therapeutics Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of KPTI traded up $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $5.57. The stock had a trading volume of 505,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 995,484. Karyopharm Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $3.51 and a twelve month high of $10.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.15 million, a PE ratio of -0.34 and a beta of 0.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.70 and a 200 day moving average of $6.81.

Karyopharm Therapeutics (NASDAQ:KPTI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($2.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.26) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.16 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Karyopharm Therapeutics will post -0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karyopharm Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KPTI. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Karyopharm Therapeutics by 112.8% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,491,409 shares of the company's stock worth $10,977,000 after acquiring an additional 790,417 shares during the last quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Karyopharm Therapeutics by 1,897.9% in the fourth quarter. Ikarian Capital LLC now owns 544,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,008,000 after purchasing an additional 517,297 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Karyopharm Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,064,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Karyopharm Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $704,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Karyopharm Therapeutics by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 187,734 shares of the company's stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 94,445 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Karyopharm Therapeutics Company Profile

Karyopharm Therapeutics NASDAQ: KPTI is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel first-in-class drugs that target the nuclear export protein XPO1. The company's lead product, selinexor (marketed as XPOVIO), is an oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export (SINE) compound approved for treatment of multiple myeloma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. In addition to selinexor, Karyopharm's pipeline includes second-generation SINE compounds and combination studies in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts, Karyopharm has built a research platform around modulation of nuclear export pathways.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.