Evotec AG (NASDAQ:EVO) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 78.5% in September

Key Points

• Evotec’s short interest fell 78.5% to 22,066 shares as of September 30, representing approximately 0.0% of shares outstanding and just 0.1 days of average trading volume.
• Institutional investors own 5.81% of Evotec, with WCM Investment Management increasing its position and Optiver Holding expanding its holdings significantly during the first quarter.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but centers on a “Hold” consensus, with one Buy, two Hold, and one Sell rating and an average price target of $3.00; the stock recently traded at $1.53.

Evotec AG (NASDAQ:EVO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 22,066 shares, a decline of 78.5% from the September 15th total of 102,492 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 241,452 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in Evotec by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 627,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 67,917 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in Evotec by 598.4% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 283,576 shares of the company's stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 242,973 shares during the last quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Evotec in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Evotec in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 5.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EVO shares. Weiss Ratings cut Evotec from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on Evotec from $7.00 to $4.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Evotec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Evotec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $2.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Evotec Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:EVO traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1.53. 40,005 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 189,386. The business's 50 day moving average is $1.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.33. Evotec has a one year low of $1.50 and a one year high of $4.27.

About Evotec

Evotec SE is a life sciences company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, that provides drug discovery and development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic partners. Founded in 1993, the company supports programs from early-stage research through preclinical and clinical development, with expertise in small-molecule and biologic therapies.

Its activities include target identification and validation, screening, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug manufacturing support and development services.

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.