Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a growth of 190.3% from the February 28th total of 406,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 501,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 5.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rapid Micro Biosystems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RPID. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 122.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 183,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 100,942 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Rapid Micro Biosystems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Rapid Micro Biosystems by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 61,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 9,191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.60% of the company’s stock.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RPID opened at $2.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $110.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 1.08. Rapid Micro Biosystems has a one year low of $0.58 and a one year high of $4.04. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.51.

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.22). The company had revenue of $8.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.20 million. Rapid Micro Biosystems had a negative return on equity of 48.05% and a negative net margin of 184.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Rapid Micro Biosystems will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, KeyCorp began coverage on Rapid Micro Biosystems in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $8.00 target price for the company.

About Rapid Micro Biosystems

Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc, a life sciences technology company, provides products for the detection of microbial contamination in the manufacture of pharmaceutical, medical devices, and personal care products in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and internationally. The company offers Growth Direct platform, which includes Growth Direct system, proprietary consumables, lab information management system connection software, and customer support and validation services.