PepGen Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) Short Interest Up 16.2% in August

PepGen Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 939,900 shares, a growth of 16.2% from the August 15th total of 808,900 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 169,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michelle L. Mellion sold 5,901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $106,218.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,682 shares of company stock worth $701,149. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepGen

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PepGen in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of PepGen in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of PepGen by 19.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 20,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 3,326 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of PepGen by 36.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 18,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 5,002 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of PepGen in the second quarter valued at about $192,000. 58.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on PEPG shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of PepGen in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America cut shares of PepGen from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of PepGen in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

PepGen Price Performance

NASDAQ PEPG traded down $0.36 on Monday, hitting $9.12. 61,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 126,875. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.86 and its 200 day moving average is $13.63. PepGen has a 52 week low of $3.72 and a 52 week high of $19.30. The company has a market capitalization of $297.22 million, a PE ratio of -2.81 and a beta of 1.70.

PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.87) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.15). Analysts predict that PepGen will post -3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PepGen Company Profile

PepGen Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of oligonucleotide therapeutics for use in the treatment of severe neuromuscular and neurologic diseases. Its lead product candidate is PGN-EDO51, an EDO peptide that is in Phase 2 clinical trial to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients.