Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Incyte Corporation decreased by 21.8% in August, with total shares short falling from 9,600,000 to 7,510,000.
• Recent analyst reports show a range of target price adjustments, with Citigroup raising its target from $88.00 to $103.00 and BMO Capital Markets setting a target price of $60.00.
• Insider trading activity has been notable, with executives selling a total of 56,098 shares valued at $3,836,196 in the last 90 days.

Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,510,000 shares, a drop of 21.8% from the August 15th total of 9,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,790,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Approximately 3.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,790,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Incyte Price Performance

NASDAQ INCY traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $85.00. The stock had a trading volume of 430,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,867,345. The firm's 50 day moving average is $80.18 and its 200 day moving average is $69.55. Incyte has a twelve month low of $53.56 and a twelve month high of $87.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 2.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vijay K. Iyengar sold 8,617 shares of Incyte stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total value of $587,248.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,569,323.15. This trade represents a 18.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Barry P. Flannelly sold 10,903 shares of Incyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total value of $743,039.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,708,553.60. The trade was a 21.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,376 shares of company stock valued at $3,859,312 over the last 90 days. 17.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Incyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Incyte during the first quarter worth $26,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Incyte during the second quarter worth $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Incyte during the second quarter worth $32,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Incyte during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Incyte during the second quarter worth $37,000. 96.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on INCY. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Incyte in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Incyte from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $107.00 in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Incyte from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Incyte from $90.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Incyte in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Incyte has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $82.53.

About Incyte

Incyte Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for hematology/oncology, and inflammation and autoimmunity areas in the United States and internationally. The company offers JAKAFI (ruxolitinib) for treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease; MONJUVI (tafasitamab-cxix)/MINJUVI (tafasitamab) for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; PEMAZYRE (pemigatinib), a fibroblast growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor that act as oncogenic drivers in liquid and solid tumor types; ICLUSIG (ponatinib) to treat chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia; and ZYNYZ (retifanlimab-dlwr) to treat adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma, as well as OPZELURA cream for treatment of atopic dermatitis.