Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RLAY) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest rose 23.1% in April to 26,998,295 shares (about 15.9% of shares sold short), leaving a short-interest ratio of 6.2 days.
• Relay beat quarterly expectations, reporting ($0.32) EPS vs. ($0.38) expected and $7.0M in revenue vs. $4.34M expected, though analysts still forecast a -1.51 EPS for the year.
• Several analysts lifted price targets (e.g., Guggenheim to $22, HC Wainwright to $25), and the stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $20.56.

Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 26,998,295 shares, an increase of 23.1% from the March 31st total of 21,938,652 shares. Approximately 15.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,387,680 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Relay Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ RLAY traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $12.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,650,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,778,124. Relay Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $2.67 and a fifty-two week high of $17.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.76 and a beta of 1.57. The firm's 50 day moving average is $11.79 and its 200 day moving average is $9.10.

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Relay Therapeutics will post -1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Relay Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Thomas Catinazzo sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 213,867 shares in the company, valued at $3,208,005. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Relay Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RLAY. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 288.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,287 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $51,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Relay Therapeutics from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Relay Therapeutics from $17.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. JonesTrading initiated coverage on Relay Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Relay Therapeutics from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Relay Therapeutics from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.56.

Relay Therapeutics Company Profile

Relay Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of precision therapies for oncology. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company was founded in 2016 with the goal of targeting dynamic protein motion using an integrated scientific platform. Relay Therapeutics leverages computational modeling, structural biology, and experimental validation to identify small-molecule drug candidates that modulate the behavior of disease-associated proteins.

The company's core business activity centers on its proprietary drug-discovery engine, which combines high-performance computing—including molecular dynamics simulations—with advanced experimental techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy and biophysical screening.

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