Short Interest in Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNTH) Declines By 20.3%

Key Points

• Lantheus Holdings, Inc. experienced a significant decline in short interest, down 20.3% from 8.42 million shares to 6.71 million shares as of August 15th.
• Several analysts have downgraded Lantheus' price targets, with estimates ranging from $63.00 to $109.00, reflecting a mixed outlook on the stock.
• Company insiders sold 6.81 million shares worth approximately $382.43 million in recent months, reducing their overall positions by about 49.18%.

Lantheus Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNTH - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,710,000 shares, a decline of 20.3% from the July 31st total of 8,420,000 shares. Approximately 10.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 10.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Lantheus Stock Performance

Shares of LNTH traded down $2.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.94. 842,370 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,507,125. Lantheus has a 1-year low of $47.25 and a 1-year high of $118.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a current ratio of 4.29. The business's 50 day moving average price is $63.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.27.

Lantheus (NASDAQ:LNTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $378.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $389.69 million. Lantheus had a return on equity of 34.06% and a net margin of 17.82%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lantheus will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Lantheus in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of Lantheus from $112.00 to $73.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Truist Financial set a $63.00 target price on shares of Lantheus and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Lantheus from $122.00 to $109.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Lantheus from $120.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lantheus news, insider Rajiv A. Patel sold 3,365,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.15, for a total transaction of $188,944,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,477,227 shares in the company, valued at $195,246,296.05. The trade was a 49.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Farallon Partners L. L. C/Ca sold 3,365,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.15, for a total transaction of $188,944,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,477,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $195,246,296.05. The trade was a 49.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,812,000 shares of company stock valued at $382,427,380. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lantheus

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lantheus by 3.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 12,084 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Lantheus by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,142 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Lantheus by 12,517.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 128,442 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $12,536,000 after acquiring an additional 127,424 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Lantheus by 21.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,362 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $2,768,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Lantheus by 12.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,709 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock worth $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.06% of the company's stock.

Lantheus Company Profile

Lantheus Holdings, Inc develops, manufactures, and commercializes diagnostic and therapeutic products that assist clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of heart, cancer, and other diseases worldwide. It provides DEFINITY, an injectable ultrasound enhancing agent used in echocardiography exams; TechneLite, a technetium generator for nuclear medicine procedures; Xenon-133, a radiopharmaceutical gas to assess pulmonary function; Neurolite, an injectable imaging agent to identify the area within the brain where blood flow has been blocked or reduced due to stroke; Cardiolite, an injectable Tc-99m-labeled imaging agent to assess blood flow to the muscle of the heart; and PYLARIFY, an F 18-labelled PSMA-targeted PET imaging agent used for imaging of PSMA positive-lesions in men with prostate cancer.