Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Rapid Micro Biosystems was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “hold” to “sell”, while Weiss Ratings also reiterated a sell rating. The stock currently has a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $8.00.
• The company reported a Q1 earnings miss, posting -$0.28 EPS versus expectations of -$0.23, though revenue of $11.28 million came in slightly above estimates. Analysts expect the company to post -0.89 EPS for the full year.
• Insider selling has been notable, with the COO and CFO both trimming their stakes and insiders selling 119,466 shares worth about $474,109 over the last three months. Institutional investors still hold a majority of the stock at 52.6%.

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Rapid Micro Biosystems currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Price Performance

Shares of RPID stock opened at $2.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.31 and a quick ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $119.56 million, a P/E ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 1.52. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $2.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.35. Rapid Micro Biosystems has a one year low of $2.01 and a one year high of $4.94.

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $11.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Rapid Micro Biosystems will post -0.89 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John J. Addington Wilson sold 9,603 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,368,411.84. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sean M. Wirtjes sold 17,254 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 563,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,209,602.08. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 119,466 shares of company stock worth $474,109 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rapid Micro Biosystems

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 965,018 shares of the company's stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 60,655 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 246.0% in the 1st quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432,510 shares of the company's stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 307,510 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 217,568 shares of the company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,881 shares during the period. 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $350,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $338,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.60% of the company's stock.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Company Profile

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.

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.