Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 377,502 shares, a growth of 18.9% from the March 15th total of 317,445 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 276,966 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Longitude Capital Partners Ii, sold 49,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.88, for a total value of $190,120.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sean M. Wirtjes sold 7,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.32, for a total value of $32,313.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 556,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,402,758.08. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 249,705 shares of company stock worth $1,021,364 over the last three months. 29.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Rapid Micro Biosystems in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Rapid Micro Biosystems by 46.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 5,341 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Lane Capital LP purchased a new position in Rapid Micro Biosystems in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in Rapid Micro Biosystems in the fourth quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Barclays PLC purchased a new position in Rapid Micro Biosystems in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RPID. Wall Street Zen raised Rapid Micro Biosystems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rapid Micro Biosystems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ RPID traded up $0.02 on Friday, hitting $2.28. The company had a trading volume of 199,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,151. Rapid Micro Biosystems has a 12-month low of $2.01 and a 12-month high of $4.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.65 million, a P/E ratio of -2.13 and a beta of 1.59.

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $11.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.93 million. Rapid Micro Biosystems had a negative net margin of 140.30% and a negative return on equity of 95.40%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Rapid Micro Biosystems will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Rapid Micro Biosystems

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ: RPID) develops and commercializes automated microbial detection and contamination control solutions for the life sciences industry. Its flagship offering, the Growth Direct® System, leverages digital imaging and proprietary growth indicator plates to identify and count microorganisms more rapidly than traditional culture-based methods. The company’s technology platform is designed to streamline quality control workflows in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and vaccine manufacturing settings, helping clients reduce release times and improve operational efficiency.

In addition to the Growth Direct® System, Rapid Micro Biosystems offers an integrated suite of software and consumables that support automated data capture, analysis and reporting.