Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, an increase of 8.2% from the January 15th total of 1,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 266,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.4 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLPG. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Galapagos by 140.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,259 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Galapagos during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Galapagos by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,852 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Galapagos by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,899 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Galapagos by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,455 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. 32.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Galapagos Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of GLPG traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $26.54. 747,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 335,752. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.45 and a 200-day moving average of $27.04. Galapagos has a 1-year low of $22.36 and a 1-year high of $40.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Galapagos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Galapagos from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Galapagos in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Galapagos from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Galapagos from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Galapagos currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.75.

Galapagos Company Profile

Galapagos NV, a biotechnology company, develops medicines focusing on oncology and immunology primarily in the United States and Europe. The company's pipeline products comprise GLPG3667 that has completed phase 1b trial; GLPG5101, a CD19 CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in Phase1/2 trial in relapsed/refractory non-hodgkin lymphoma; GLPG5201, a CD19 CAR-T product candidates manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 trial in replapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and GLPG5301, a BCMA CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.