Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAX) Short Interest Update

Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRAX) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a growth of 24.2% from the December 15th total of 1,530,000 shares. Currently, 11.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 329,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Praxis Precision Medicines Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Praxis Precision Medicines stock traded up $0.29 on Friday, reaching $70.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 293,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,044. Praxis Precision Medicines has a 52-week low of $33.01 and a 52-week high of $86.93. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 2.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.17.

Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($2.75) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.01) by ($0.74). Praxis Precision Medicines had a negative return on equity of 54.86% and a negative net margin of 9,409.22%. The company had revenue of $0.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.70) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Praxis Precision Medicines will post -10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lauren Mastrocola sold 5,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.78, for a total transaction of $424,274.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,613 shares in the company, valued at $459,031.14. The trade was a 48.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Alex Nemiroff sold 8,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total transaction of $660,767.80. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 10,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,140.20. The trade was a 44.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in Praxis Precision Medicines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in the second quarter worth approximately $83,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Praxis Precision Medicines by 35.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Praxis Precision Medicines in the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Praxis Precision Medicines in the 3rd quarter valued at $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.84% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Praxis Precision Medicines from $143.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of Praxis Precision Medicines in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.33.

Praxis Precision Medicines Company Profile

Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapies for central nervous system disorders characterized by neuronal excitation-inhibition imbalance. It is developing ulixacaltamide, a small molecule inhibitor of T-type calcium channels that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of essential tremor; PRAX-562 for the treatment of pediatric patients with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE); and PRAX-628 to treat focal epilepsy.