Savara Inc. (NASDAQ:SVRA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Savara Inc. (NASDAQ:SVRA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 20,185,493 shares, an increase of 33.1% from the November 30th total of 15,166,976 shares. Currently, 10.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,247,790 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 4,247,790 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 10.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Savara Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:SVRA traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $6.03. 77,719 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,586,723. The company has a current ratio of 7.65, a quick ratio of 7.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Savara has a 1-year low of $1.89 and a 1-year high of $7.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.31 and its 200-day moving average is $3.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.39 and a beta of 0.22.

Savara (NASDAQ:SVRA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). Equities research analysts anticipate that Savara will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Savara

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bain Capital Life Sciences Investors LLC boosted its stake in Savara by 20.8% during the first quarter. Bain Capital Life Sciences Investors LLC now owns 17,600,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,754,000 after acquiring an additional 3,035,164 shares in the last quarter. VR Adviser LLC raised its holdings in shares of Savara by 42.7% during the third quarter. VR Adviser LLC now owns 12,681,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,271,000 after purchasing an additional 3,796,780 shares during the period. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Savara by 32.4% during the first quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 11,462,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801,922 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Savara by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP now owns 11,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,470,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nantahala Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Savara by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 8,775,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,328,000 after buying an additional 450,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on SVRA shares. UBS Group set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Savara in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. JMP Securities increased their price target on Savara from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Savara in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Savara from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Lifesci Capital raised Savara to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.13.

About Savara

Savara Inc (NASDAQ:SVRA) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare respiratory diseases. The company specializes in in-licensing, advancing and potentially bringing to market novel treatments that address severe pulmonary conditions with high unmet medical need.

The company’s lead candidate, Molgradex (recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, or GM-CSF), is under regulatory review for the treatment of autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), a rare lung disease characterized by the accumulation of surfactant.