Scribe Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SCTX) Short Interest Up 173.3% in August

Key Points

• Short interest surged 173.3% in August to 778,191 shares, representing approximately 4.1% of Scribe Therapeutics’ outstanding stock and 2.6 days to cover.
• Insiders purchased 3.73 million shares worth approximately $56.3 million in the last quarter, including a director’s $36.1 million acquisition.
• Analyst sentiment is favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $51.75 price target; shares recently opened at $29.74. The company beat quarterly EPS expectations but reported revenue below estimates.

Scribe Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SCTX - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 778,191 shares, an increase of 173.3% from the August 15th total of 284,711 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 295,438 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Scribe Therapeutics news, CFO David Parrot bought 2,666 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $39,990.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,333 shares in the company, valued at $19,995. This trade represents a -200.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Behzad Aghazadeh bought 2,383,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.15 per share, with a total value of $36,107,494.95. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,080,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,676,892.45. This represents a 341.62% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 3,727,237 shares of company stock worth $56,291,746.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on SCTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Scribe Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Scribe Therapeutics to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Scribe Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright began coverage on Scribe Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised Scribe Therapeutics to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.75.

Scribe Therapeutics Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SCTX opened at $29.74 on Friday. Scribe Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $17.31 and a 1-year high of $39.60.

Scribe Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SCTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The company reported ($3.84) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($6.20) by $2.36. The firm had revenue of $1.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Scribe Therapeutics will post -3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Scribe Therapeutics

Scribe Therapeutics Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company engineering CRISPR-based technologies into purpose-built in vivo genetic medicines designed to become standard of care treatments for patients suffering from highly prevalent diseases, starting with cardiometabolic disease. Scribe Therapeutics Inc is based in ALAMEDA, Calif.

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