Wall Street Zen Downgrades Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS) to Hold

Key Points

• Emergent Biosolutions has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analysts' outlook on the stock's performance.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings reported $0.16 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations but falling short on revenue, which totaled $140.90 million against a consensus of $148.55 million.
• Insider trading activity shows that Director Keith Katkin sold 7,844 shares at an average price of $6.30, reducing his ownership stake in the company by 8.32%.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Emergent Biosolutions Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE EBS traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.95. The stock had a trading volume of 338,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,253,839. Emergent Biosolutions has a 12 month low of $4.02 and a 12 month high of $13.28. The company has a market capitalization of $477.22 million, a PE ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 3.00 and a current ratio of 5.66. The company's 50-day moving average price is $6.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.61.

Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.42. The business had revenue of $140.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $148.55 million. Emergent Biosolutions had a return on equity of 24.63% and a net margin of 16.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Emergent Biosolutions will post -0.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith Katkin sold 7,844 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.30, for a total value of $49,417.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 86,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,515.30. This trade represents a 8.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EBS. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 14.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 17,824 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 0.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 358,952 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 5,458.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,946 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 145,889 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,395,000 after acquiring an additional 3,692 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 33.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,249 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.40% of the company's stock.

About Emergent Biosolutions

Emergent BioSolutions Inc, a life sciences company, provides preparedness and response solutions for accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats in the United States. The company offers NARCAN Nasal Spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; Vaxchora vaccine for the prevention of cholera; Vivotif vaccine for oral administration for the prevention of typhoid fever; Anthrasil for the treatment of inhalational anthrax; BioThrax, an anthrax vaccine; CYFENDUS for post-exposure prophylaxis of disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis; and Raxibacumab injection for the treatment and prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax.