Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Ovid Therapeutics jumped sharply in June, rising 85.6% to 21.99 million shares by June 30. That means about 12.7% of the company’s shares were shorted, with a days-to-cover ratio of 3.8.
• The stock was down 1.6% and traded around $2.45, leaving Ovid with a market cap of about $457 million. The company also has a very strong liquidity position, with a quick ratio and current ratio of 10.17.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive despite losses, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.12. Ovid recently matched quarterly EPS expectations at -$0.12, and analysts expect a full-year loss of about -$0.50 per share.

Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 21,998,879 shares, a growth of 85.6% from the June 15th total of 11,855,450 shares. Currently, 12.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,823,749 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Institutional Trading of Ovid Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Ovid Therapeutics by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 30,000 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Ovid Therapeutics by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 56,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 18,841 shares in the last quarter. Benin Management CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Ovid Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ovid Therapeutics by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 30,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Ovid Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.24% of the company's stock.

Ovid Therapeutics Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:OVID opened at $2.45 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $2.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.45 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 10.17 and a current ratio of 10.17. Ovid Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $0.41 and a 1 year high of $3.11.

Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12). Ovid Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 22.51% and a negative net margin of 240.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ovid Therapeutics will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on OVID. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Ovid Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ovid Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ovid Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Ovid Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Ovid Therapeutics from $2.00 to $4.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ovid Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $5.12.

Ovid Therapeutics Company Profile

Ovid Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for rare neurological disorders. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York, the company applies a precision medicine approach to target underlying mechanisms of disease in patients with genetic conditions affecting the central nervous system. Its research platform centers on small-molecule modulators of neurotransmitter pathways to restore neural network function in disorders with high unmet medical need.

The company's lead development candidate, OV101 (gaboxadol), is a selective extrasynaptic GABAA receptor agonist being investigated for the treatment of Angelman syndrome and Fragile X syndrome.

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