Needham & Company LLC Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has reduced its price target for Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) from $9.00 to $8.00, but maintains a "buy" rating, indicating a potential upside of 169.36% from the previous close.
• Absci reported a quarterly loss of ($0.24) earnings per share, falling short of the consensus estimate of ($0.19), while revenues for the quarter totaled $0.59 million, significantly below analyst expectations of $1.39 million.
• Insider Andreas Busch purchased 50,000 shares of Absci at an average price of $3.04, increasing his total ownership by 18.03% to 327,264 shares.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $9.00 to $8.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 182.69% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Absci from $7.00 to $6.40 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Absci from $5.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Absci from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Absci presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.98.

Absci Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABSI traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.83. 3,719,758 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,749,319. Absci has a 52-week low of $2.01 and a 52-week high of $6.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $423.14 million, a PE ratio of -3.01 and a beta of 2.02. The business's fifty day moving average price is $2.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.15.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $0.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 million. Absci had a negative return on equity of 60.21% and a negative net margin of 2,737.94%. Analysts predict that Absci will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Absci news, insider Andreas Busch acquired 50,000 shares of Absci stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.04 per share, for a total transaction of $152,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 327,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $994,882.56. This represents a 18.03% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Absci

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Absci by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 45,800 shares of the company's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Absci by 45.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,690 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,678 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in Absci by 35.8% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,153 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,729 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Absci by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 29,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 3,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Absci by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 352,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 3,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.05% of the company's stock.

Absci Company Profile

Absci Corporation operates as a data-first generative artificial intelligence (AI) drug creation company in the United States. The company combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create biologics for patients. Its integrated drug creation platform is designed to improve upon traditional biologic drug discovery by using AI to simultaneously optimize multiple drug characteristics that may be important to development and therapeutic benefit.