Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NERV) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NERV) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 42,000 shares, a growth of 101.0% from the January 31st total of 20,900 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 41,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Minerva Neurosciences

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Minerva Neurosciences stock. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:NERV) by 49.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,764 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,525 shares during the quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC owned about 0.37% of Minerva Neurosciences worth $57,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 34.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Minerva Neurosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ NERV traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $1.67. The stock had a trading volume of 18,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,113. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.14 and a 200-day moving average of $2.37. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.80 and a beta of 0.12. Minerva Neurosciences has a 52-week low of $1.64 and a 52-week high of $3.69.

Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ:NERV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.05) by $0.49. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Minerva Neurosciences will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NERV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of Minerva Neurosciences in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Minerva Neurosciences in a research report on Sunday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock.

About Minerva Neurosciences

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of product candidates for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Its lead product candidate is roluperidone (MIN-101) for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, currently submitted an New Drug Application (NDA); and MIN-301, a soluble recombinant form of the neuregulin-1b1 protein for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.