Avid Bioservices (NASDAQ:CDMO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDMO) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 697,455 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the previous session’s volume of 1,088,705 shares.The stock last traded at $12.38 and had previously closed at $12.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CDMO shares. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Avid Bioservices in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $12.50 target price (up from $12.00) on shares of Avid Bioservices in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum cut shares of Avid Bioservices from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stephens downgraded Avid Bioservices from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.25.

Avid Bioservices Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $793.14 million, a P/E ratio of -5.19 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nicholas Stewart Green sold 145,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.22, for a total transaction of $1,783,032.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,926,116.40. This trade represents a 48.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Richard A. Richieri sold 2,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.37, for a total value of $28,240.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $612,747.95. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 349,850 shares of company stock worth $4,288,259 over the last 90 days. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avid Bioservices

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Avid Bioservices by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 19,960 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Avid Bioservices in the second quarter worth $80,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Avid Bioservices by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 94,682 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 5,408 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Avid Bioservices by 5,631.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 726,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,185,000 after buying an additional 713,523 shares during the period. Finally, AltraVue Capital LLC grew its stake in Avid Bioservices by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. AltraVue Capital LLC now owns 3,395,263 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,242,000 after buying an additional 239,343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.16% of the company’s stock.

About Avid Bioservices

Avid Bioservices, Inc operates as a contract development and manufacturing organization for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries in the United States. It provides process development and current good manufacturing practice clinical and commercial manufacturing services of biologics, including clinical and commercial drug substance manufacturing, bulk packaging, release and stability testing, regulatory submission and support, upstream and downstream development and optimization, analytical methods development, cell line development, testing, and characterization services.