Palisade Capital Management LP Invests $4.32 Million in Emergent Biosolutions Inc. $EBS

Palisade Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 515,059 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,316,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EBS. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Emergent Biosolutions by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,009 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Emergent Biosolutions by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 78,945 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 4.6% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 42,394 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 1,865 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 181,744 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,246,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 0.9% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 307,880 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,555,000 after buying an additional 2,834 shares in the last quarter. 78.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Emergent Biosolutions

In other news, SVP Paul Anthony Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.40, for a total value of $25,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 159,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,336,423.20. This represents a 1.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Emergent Biosolutions in a report on Friday, August 21st. They set an “underweight” rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Emergent Biosolutions to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Emergent Biosolutions from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on Emergent Biosolutions from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Emergent Biosolutions currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Emergent Biosolutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EBS opened at $5.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 2.95 and a current ratio of 5.42. Emergent Biosolutions Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.36 and a 52 week high of $14.06. The firm has a market cap of $289.27 million, a PE ratio of -1.59 and a beta of 2.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.00 and its 200-day moving average is $8.17.

Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.68. The business had revenue of $234.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.50 million. Emergent Biosolutions had a positive return on equity of 16.35% and a negative net margin of 22.95%. Sell-side analysts predict that Emergent Biosolutions Inc. will post -4.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Emergent Biosolutions Company Profile

Emergent BioSolutions is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing medical countermeasures and specialty products that address public health threats. The company’s portfolio includes vaccines, antibody therapies and critical care products designed to protect against biological, chemical and emerging infectious disease threats. Emergent has longstanding partnerships with government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), to support national preparedness programs.

Key commercial products in Emergent’s lineup include BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed), ACAM2000 (smallpox vaccine) and Vaxchora (cholera vaccine), alongside therapeutic treatments such as Anthrasil (anthrax immune globulin) and the naloxone-based nasal spray Narcan for opioid overdose reversal.