Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ:LEXX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ:LEXX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,596,738 shares, a growth of 158.3% from the December 15th total of 618,196 shares. Approximately 7.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,319,034 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,319,034 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Approximately 7.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lexaria Bioscience

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Lexaria Bioscience stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ:LEXX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 29,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000. Virtu Financial LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Lexaria Bioscience at the end of the most recent quarter. 13.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Lexaria Bioscience from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Lexaria Bioscience in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Lexaria Bioscience from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lexaria Bioscience presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.50.

Lexaria Bioscience Price Performance

Lexaria Bioscience stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $0.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 198,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,947. Lexaria Bioscience has a 52-week low of $0.46 and a 52-week high of $2.04. The company has a market cap of $18.17 million, a PE ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $0.91 and its 200 day moving average is $0.94.

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ:LEXX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. Lexaria Bioscience had a negative net margin of 1,685.84% and a negative return on equity of 222.83%. The business had revenue of $0.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.14 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Lexaria Bioscience will post -0.59 EPS for the current year.

About Lexaria Bioscience

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) is a biotech company specializing in the development and commercialization of proprietary drug delivery platforms. The company’s flagship technology, DehydraTECH, is designed to improve the oral bioavailability, onset time and overall efficiency of active molecules such as cannabinoids, nicotine and other lipophilic compounds. Lexaria’s platform seeks to address absorption challenges commonly associated with oral delivery by enhancing the rate and extent at which compounds enter the bloodstream.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, Lexaria operates in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and consumer product markets.