Hookipa Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:HOOK) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Hookipa Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:HOOK) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,200 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the August 15th total of 26,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 39,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Hookipa Pharma in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Hookipa Pharma from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Hookipa Pharma from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Hookipa Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of HOOK stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,982. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.84. Hookipa Pharma has a 1-year low of $4.10 and a 1-year high of $11.30. The company has a market cap of $47.30 million, a P/E ratio of -0.96 and a beta of 0.84.

Hookipa Pharma (NASDAQ:HOOK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($1.52) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.44) by ($0.08). Hookipa Pharma had a negative return on equity of 36.81% and a negative net margin of 93.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.68 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hookipa Pharma will post -2.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hookipa Pharma

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hookipa Pharma in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Hookipa Pharma by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 302,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 83,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Hookipa Pharma by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 991,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 108,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 63.88% of the company’s stock.

Hookipa Pharma Company Profile

HOOKIPA Pharma Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops immunotherapeutics targeting infectious diseases and cancers based on its proprietary arenavirus platform. The company's lead infectious disease product candidate is HB-101, which is in a randomized double-blinded Phase 2 clinical trial in cytomegalovirus-negative patients awaiting kidney transplantation from cytomegalovirus-positive donors.