Orchestra BioMed Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBIO) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 20.6% to 957,939 shares as of March 31, representing 1.8% of shares short and a short-interest ratio of about 4.0 days based on average daily volume.
• Insider purchase: Director David P. Hochman bought 10,000 shares at $4.29 on March 13, raising his stake to 1,086,467 shares; company insiders collectively own 8.10% of the stock.
• Big earnings beat but mixed analyst views: Orchestra reported Q EPS of $0.26 vs. a -$0.38 estimate and revenue of $30.92M vs. $0.93M estimate, while analysts show a split (4 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) with an average price target of $14.25.

Orchestra BioMed Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBIO - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 957,939 shares, a growth of 20.6% from the March 15th total of 794,502 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 239,186 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Insider Activity

In other Orchestra BioMed news, insider David P. Hochman purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.29 per share, for a total transaction of $42,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,086,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,660,943.43. This represents a 0.93% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orchestra BioMed

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its position in Orchestra BioMed by 9.2% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 54,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 4,561 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Orchestra BioMed by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,577 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 5,678 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Orchestra BioMed during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Orchestra BioMed during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Orchestra BioMed in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 53.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on OBIO. Barclays increased their target price on Orchestra BioMed from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Orchestra BioMed from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Orchestra BioMed in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Orchestra BioMed in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $14.25.

Orchestra BioMed Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of OBIO stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.58. 128,509 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 150,660. The stock's fifty day moving average is $4.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 6.45 and a quick ratio of 6.43. Orchestra BioMed has a 52-week low of $2.20 and a 52-week high of $5.42. The stock has a market cap of $268.02 million, a P/E ratio of -4.05 and a beta of 0.60.

Orchestra BioMed (NASDAQ:OBIO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.38) by $0.64. Orchestra BioMed had a negative net margin of 157.40% and a negative return on equity of 184.17%. The business had revenue of $30.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.93 million. Equities analysts predict that Orchestra BioMed will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Orchestra BioMed Company Profile

Orchestra BioMed, Inc NASDAQ: OBIO is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing targeted therapies for inflammatory, fibrotic and oncologic diseases. The company's research focuses on novel small-molecule programs designed to address high‐unmet-need conditions by leveraging proprietary prodrug and targeted inhibitor platforms. Orchestra BioMed's pipeline includes lead candidates such as OBI-3424, a prodrug activated by AKR1C3 for the treatment of select solid tumors, and next-generation modulators aimed at suppressing pathological inflammation and fibrosis.

Orchestra BioMed conducts early‐ and mid-stage clinical studies in North America, working closely with key opinion leaders and academic centers to advance its programs.

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.