Short Interest in Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID) Increases By 71.2%

Key Points

• Short interest in Ovid Therapeutics surged by 71.2% in March to 9,337,824 shares, equal to about 8.1% of the float and a short-interest ratio of 1.5 days.
• Analysts have become more positive—MarketBeat shows an average rating of Buy with an average target of $4.63, and several firms (HC Wainwright, BTIG, Lifesci) recently setting or raising targets to around $4.
• Ovid traded at $2.71 (down 1.6%) and recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results (EPS $0.06 vs. consensus -$0.10); the company has a market cap of about $356.7M and 50/200-day moving averages of $1.94/$1.70.

Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 9,337,824 shares, a growth of 71.2% from the March 15th total of 5,454,309 shares. Currently, 8.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,101,520 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Ovid Therapeutics from $2.00 to $4.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Ovid Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ovid Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Lifesci Capital assumed coverage on Ovid Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $4.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on shares of Ovid Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $4.63.

Institutional Trading of Ovid Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Benin Management CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Ovid Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ovid Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ovid Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ovid Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Ovid Therapeutics by 150.0% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 30,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. 72.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ovid Therapeutics Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ OVID traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $2.71. 1,437,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,714,696. The business's 50-day moving average is $1.94 and its 200-day moving average is $1.70. Ovid Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.26 and a twelve month high of $3.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 8.97 and a current ratio of 8.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $356.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.73 and a beta of -0.03.

Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.16. Ovid Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 23.98% and a negative net margin of 240.11%.The firm had revenue of $0.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.06 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ovid Therapeutics will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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.