AbCellera Biologics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:ABCL)

AbCellera Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:ABCL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 16,666 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 151% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,636 call options.

AbCellera Biologics Stock Performance

ABCL traded up $2.37 during trading on Monday, reaching $9.30. 24,324,009 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,830,630. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -17.38 and a beta of 1.20. AbCellera Biologics has a fifty-two week low of $2.74 and a fifty-two week high of $9.76.

AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.02). AbCellera Biologics had a negative net margin of 248.83% and a negative return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $4.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.85 million. Research analysts forecast that AbCellera Biologics will post -0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABCL has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut AbCellera Biologics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of AbCellera Biologics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on AbCellera Biologics from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark upgraded shares of AbCellera Biologics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of AbCellera Biologics from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AbCellera Biologics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCL. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in AbCellera Biologics by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 41,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AbCellera Biologics by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,993 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of AbCellera Biologics by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 29,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 3,386 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AbCellera Biologics by 17.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 28,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 4,070 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of AbCellera Biologics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 347,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 4,246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.42% of the company’s stock.

About AbCellera Biologics

AbCellera Biologics Inc (NASDAQ: ABCL) is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies. The company’s technology platform integrates single-cell screening, microfluidics, high-throughput sequencing and artificial intelligence to rapidly identify and optimize antibody candidates against a wide range of disease targets. By combining experimental data with machine learning, AbCellera accelerates early-stage drug discovery and improves the efficiency of lead candidate selection.

AbCellera primarily operates through partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, offering its antibody discovery services on a fee-for-service and milestone-driven basis.