LAVA Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LVTX) Short Interest Up 1,443.0% in February

LAVA Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LVTX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 387,300 shares, a growth of 1,443.0% from the February 13th total of 25,100 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 448,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LAVA Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in LAVA Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in LAVA Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Sanofi acquired a new stake in LAVA Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $1,825,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp cut LAVA Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $2.00 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of LAVA Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, December 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1.50 target price (down previously from $2.00) on shares of LAVA Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of LAVA Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered LAVA Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.17.

LAVA Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LVTX traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1.34. 19,348 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 193,329. The company has a market cap of $35.23 million, a P/E ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 0.48. LAVA Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $0.85 and a twelve month high of $4.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.41.

LAVA Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LVTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.11). As a group, equities research analysts predict that LAVA Therapeutics will post -1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LAVA Therapeutics Company Profile

LAVA Therapeutics N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, focuses on developing cancer treatments. The company through its Gammabody platform, develops a portfolio of novel bispecific antibodies to engage and leverage the potency and precision of gamma delta T cells to elicit an anti-tumor immune response and enhance outcomes for cancer patients.