Short Interest in Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:PRLD) Decreases By 22.1%

Key Points

• Short interest in Prelude Therapeutics fell by 22.1% in April to 1,807,780 shares, representing about 7.9% of the float and a 5.2 days-to-cover ratio based on average volume.
• A company director and Orbimed Advisors each purchased 2,815,315 shares at $4.44 per share (~$12.5M each), boosting insider ownership to 63.9% and increasing the director's holdings to 11,808,945 shares (a 31.3% rise).
• The stock carries a consensus Hold rating with a $7 average target; shares traded around $4.33 after the company reported an EPS loss of ($0.20) that beat estimates while revenue of $5.64M missed expectations, and market cap is about $272M.

Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated (NASDAQ:PRLD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,807,780 shares, a drop of 22.1% from the March 31st total of 2,319,677 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 348,016 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 7.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRLD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Prelude Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on Prelude Therapeutics from $3.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Prelude Therapeutics from $5.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prelude Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.00.

Prelude Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of Prelude Therapeutics stock opened at $4.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $272.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.33 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.49. Prelude Therapeutics has a one year low of $0.73 and a one year high of $5.54.

Prelude Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRLD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.50 million.

Insider Activity at Prelude Therapeutics

In related news, Director David P. Bonita bought 2,815,315 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.44 per share, with a total value of $12,499,998.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,808,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,431,715.80. This represents a 31.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Orbimed Advisors Llc bought 2,815,315 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.44 per share, with a total value of $12,499,998.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,808,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,431,715.80. The trade was a 31.30% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 63.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prelude Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in Prelude Therapeutics by 72.4% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 42,573 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 17,873 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prelude Therapeutics by 170.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 33,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 21,330 shares during the period. Shay Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Prelude Therapeutics by 33.3% during the third quarter. Shay Capital LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Prelude Therapeutics by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 127,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 29,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prelude Therapeutics by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 117,477 shares of the company's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 38,150 shares during the period. 79.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prelude Therapeutics Company Profile

Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated is a clinical-stage precision medicine company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapies for genetically defined oncology targets. By leveraging a chemical biology approach, the company aims to deliver targeted treatments that address key drivers of cancer cell growth and survival. Prelude's pipeline emphasizes novel inhibitors designed to engage molecular pathways validated by both preclinical and clinical evidence.

Among Prelude's lead programs is PRT2527, a selective PI3K‐alpha/delta inhibitor in Phase 1 clinical trials for solid tumors harboring PIK3CA and other pathway mutations.

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