Grifols, S.A. (NASDAQ:GRFS) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 105.0% in September

Key Points

• Grifols’ short interest more than doubled to 7.0 million shares as of September 30, up 105% from mid-month, representing about 1.0% of shares outstanding and 8.7 days of average trading volume.
• Shares opened at $7.17, near the company’s 52-week low of $6.96, with the stock down 2.7%; its market capitalization is approximately $4.88 billion.
• Institutional investors generally increased their holdings, but analyst sentiment remains cautious: Grifols has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.00.

Grifols, S.A. (NASDAQ:GRFS - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,001,241 shares, an increase of 105.0% from the September 15th total of 3,414,455 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 808,104 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.7 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Grifols Stock Down 2.7%

GRFS opened at $7.17 on Wednesday. Grifols has a 1-year low of $6.96 and a 1-year high of $9.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $7.64 and a 200-day moving average of $7.73.

Institutional Trading of Grifols

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Flat Footed LLC lifted its position in shares of Grifols by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Flat Footed LLC now owns 1,372,394 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $11,007,000 after acquiring an additional 287,867 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Grifols by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,233,082 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,730,000 after purchasing an additional 109,612 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Grifols by 42.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 352,798 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 104,418 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Grifols by 15.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 785,703 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,301,000 after purchasing an additional 104,850 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Grifols by 13.8% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 592,173 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,193,000 after purchasing an additional 72,037 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Grifols from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Grifols from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Grifols from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $10.00.

Grifols Company Profile

Grifols SA is a global healthcare company based in Barcelona, Spain, and is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol GRFS. Founded in 1909, the company is primarily focused on developing, manufacturing and supplying plasma-derived medicines and other healthcare products.

Its principal therapies include immunoglobulins, albumin, alpha-1 antitrypsin and coagulation factors, which are used to treat immune deficiencies, respiratory disorders, bleeding conditions and other serious diseases. Grifols operates a network of plasma donation centers, mainly in the United States and Europe, to collect the source plasma used in its medicines.

Grifols also provides diagnostic solutions, including instruments and reagents used in blood typing, transfusion medicine and laboratory testing.

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.