IO Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOBT) Short Interest Up 74.8% in January

IO Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOBT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 5,390,908 shares, an increase of 74.8% from the January 15th total of 3,083,794 shares. Currently, 7.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 53,686,494 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 53,686,494 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Currently, 7.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IO Biotech

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IOBT. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of IO Biotech in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in IO Biotech during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in IO Biotech during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IO Biotech in the third quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IO Biotech in the 3rd quarter valued at about $506,000. 54.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IO Biotech Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ IOBT traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $0.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,470,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,303,788. IO Biotech has a 52 week low of $0.21 and a 52 week high of $2.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $0.53 and its 200-day moving average is $0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.29. The stock has a market cap of $26.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.27 and a beta of 0.46.

IO Biotech (NASDAQ:IOBT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by $0.03. Equities analysts predict that IO Biotech will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on IOBT shares. Piper Sandler lowered IO Biotech from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of IO Biotech in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered IO Biotech from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised IO Biotech from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.33.

IO Biotech Company Profile

IO Biotech ApS is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in the development of novel immuno-oncology therapies. The company’s proprietary platform focuses on activating and sustaining anti-tumor immune responses by targeting the PD-L1 immune checkpoint. IO Biotech’s lead candidate, IO-VAC(R), is a peptide-based cancer vaccine designed to induce durable T-cell responses against PD-L1–expressing tumors.

Since its founding in 2013, IO Biotech has advanced IO-VAC(R) into multiple clinical trials, including Phase II studies in patients with metastatic melanoma.