Strata Critical Medical (NASDAQ:SRTA) Short Interest Down 47.9% in June

Key Points

• Short interest in Strata Critical Medical fell sharply in June, dropping 47.9% to 4.1 million shares as of June 30. That leaves about 5.6% of the company’s stock sold short, with a short-interest ratio of 2.5 days.
• Company insiders recently sold shares, including CAO Amir Cohen and CEO William A. Heyburn, both in transactions tied to tax withholding on vested equity awards. Insider selling totaled 116,931 shares over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive, with an average price target of $8.00 and a “Moderate Buy” consensus. The stock last traded around $5.39, below that target, after the company recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.03, beating estimates.

Strata Critical Medical (NASDAQ:SRTA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 4,075,056 shares, a decline of 47.9% from the June 15th total of 7,824,961 shares. Approximately 5.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,622,698 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amir Cohen sold 4,655 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.87, for a total value of $27,324.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 146,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $860,588.96. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO William A. Heyburn sold 31,671 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.87, for a total value of $185,908.77. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,548,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,092,612.39. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,931 shares of company stock valued at $687,184. Corporate insiders own 15.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Strata Critical Medical

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Strata Critical Medical by 11.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,617,104 shares of the company's stock worth $6,759,000 after purchasing an additional 172,154 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Strata Critical Medical by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 181,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 25,379 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Strata Critical Medical by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 143,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 71,155 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Strata Critical Medical during the 1st quarter valued at $537,000. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Strata Critical Medical by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 24,350 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. 47.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial assumed coverage on shares of Strata Critical Medical in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 target price for the company. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Strata Critical Medical in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Strata Critical Medical from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Strata Critical Medical to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $8.00.

Strata Critical Medical Stock Performance

SRTA stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.39. The company had a trading volume of 327,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 953,346. The stock has a market cap of $466.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.44 and a beta of 2.22. Strata Critical Medical has a 12 month low of $3.67 and a 12 month high of $6.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $5.62.

Strata Critical Medical (NASDAQ:SRTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.38 million during the quarter. Strata Critical Medical had a negative return on equity of 4.06% and a net margin of 20.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Strata Critical Medical will post -0.14 EPS for the current year.

About Strata Critical Medical

Blade Air Mobility, Inc provides air transportation alternatives to the congested ground routes in the United States. It provides its services through charter and by-the-seat flights using helicopters, jets, turboprops, and amphibious seaplanes. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

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