Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:NAUT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 51.1% to 674,952 shares as of March 31, leaving a days-to-cover ratio of about 1.3 and roughly 0.9% of the company's stock sold short.
• CEO Sujal M. Patel bought 25,000 shares at $2.61 on March 4, bringing his stake to 10,366,721 shares; insiders own 41.10% of the stock while institutional investors hold about 50.71%, indicating highly concentrated ownership.
• NAUT traded at $3.05 (up 2.7%) with a market cap of $386M and a 52-week range of $0.62–$4.31; analyst coverage is mixed (consensus "Hold", average target $4.00) with Guggenheim bullish and Weiss Ratings negative.

Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ:NAUT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 674,952 shares, a growth of 51.1% from the March 15th total of 446,652 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 503,039 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Nautilus Biotechnology Trading Up 2.7%

NAUT traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $3.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 223,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,937. Nautilus Biotechnology has a fifty-two week low of $0.62 and a fifty-two week high of $4.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $386.01 million, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.09.

Nautilus Biotechnology (NASDAQ:NAUT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.03. Research analysts expect that Nautilus Biotechnology will post -0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nautilus Biotechnology

In other news, CEO Sujal M. Patel acquired 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2.61 per share, for a total transaction of $65,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,366,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,057,141.81. This represents a 0.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 41.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nautilus Biotechnology

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NAUT. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA acquired a new stake in Nautilus Biotechnology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,462,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Nautilus Biotechnology by 860.0% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 435,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 390,000 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Nautilus Biotechnology during the 1st quarter valued at $194,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Nautilus Biotechnology by 304.1% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 290,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 218,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Nautilus Biotechnology by 152.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 297,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 179,721 shares in the last quarter. 50.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NAUT has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Nautilus Biotechnology in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim increased their price target on Nautilus Biotechnology from $2.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nautilus Biotechnology presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.00.

Nautilus Biotechnology Company Profile

Nautilus Biotechnology is a life sciences company developing a next-generation proteomics platform that aims to provide high-resolution, single-molecule protein analysis. Its core technology combines proprietary microfluidics, advanced optics and custom reagents to capture and identify thousands of proteins simultaneously, offering researchers detailed insights into cellular processes and disease biology. The company’s platform is designed to improve sensitivity, reproducibility and throughput compared with traditional mass spectrometry approaches.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Nautilus Biotechnology serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions and research organizations seeking to accelerate drug discovery and biomarker research.

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