Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) Short Interest Up 8.4% in March

Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,850,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the February 29th total of 7,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Catalent Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CTLT stock traded up $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $56.55. 707,332 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,758,553. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 2.48. Catalent has a one year low of $31.45 and a one year high of $67.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.20.

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Catalent had a negative return on equity of 2.43% and a negative net margin of 29.91%. Catalent’s revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Catalent will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Catalent

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTLT. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Catalent during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Catalent by 84.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Catalent in the third quarter worth $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Catalent in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Catalent in the fourth quarter worth $33,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on CTLT. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.50 target price on shares of Catalent in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Catalent from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Catalent in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $63.50 price target on shares of Catalent in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.50 price target (up previously from $58.00) on shares of Catalent in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Catalent has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.46.

About Catalent

Catalent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures solutions for drugs, protein-based biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Biologics, and Pharma and Consumer Health. The Biologics segment provides formulation, development, and manufacturing for biologic proteins, cell gene, and other nucleic acid therapies; pDNA, iPSCs, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines; formulation, development, and manufacturing for parenteral dose forms, including vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges; and analytical development and testing services for large molecules.