Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID) Short Interest Up 44.1% in April

Key Points

• Short interest up 44.1% in April to 543,866 shares (about 1.7% of shares outstanding) with a days-to-cover of 2.9, signaling increased bearish activity.
• Insiders sold 241,966 shares worth roughly $989,944 over the last quarter (including sales by the COO and CFO), leaving corporate insiders with 12.7% ownership.
• The stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an $8.00 average target amid mixed analyst views, and the company recently missed quarterly EPS (‑$0.28 vs. est. ‑$0.23) despite a slight revenue beat.

Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 543,866 shares, an increase of 44.1% from the March 31st total of 377,502 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 185,162 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on RPID shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.00.

Insider Activity at Rapid Micro Biosystems

In related news, COO John J. Addington Wilson sold 9,603 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.32, for a total value of $41,484.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 316,762 shares in the company, valued at $1,368,411.84. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sean M. Wirtjes sold 17,254 shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.92, for a total transaction of $67,635.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 563,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,602.08. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 241,966 shares of company stock worth $989,944 over the last quarter. 12.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rapid Micro Biosystems

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RPID. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Rapid Micro Biosystems by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 204,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 3,143 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 46.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,922 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 5,341 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems during the second quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 6.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 965,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 60,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 355.1% during the third quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 200,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 156,234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.60% of the company's stock.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Stock Performance

Rapid Micro Biosystems stock opened at $2.45 on Tuesday. Rapid Micro Biosystems has a fifty-two week low of $2.01 and a fifty-two week high of $4.94. The stock has a market cap of $111.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 1.59. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $2.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.31.

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $11.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.93 million. Rapid Micro Biosystems had a negative return on equity of 95.40% and a negative net margin of 140.30%. As a group, analysts expect that Rapid Micro Biosystems will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Rapid Micro Biosystems

Rapid Micro Biosystems NASDAQ: RPID develops and commercializes automated microbial detection and contamination control solutions for the life sciences industry. Its flagship offering, the Growth Direct® System, leverages digital imaging and proprietary growth indicator plates to identify and count microorganisms more rapidly than traditional culture-based methods. The company's technology platform is designed to streamline quality control workflows in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and vaccine manufacturing settings, helping clients reduce release times and improve operational efficiency.

In addition to the Growth Direct® System, Rapid Micro Biosystems offers an integrated suite of software and consumables that support automated data capture, analysis and reporting.

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