LAVA Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LVTX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

LAVA Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LVTX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 387,300 shares, a growth of 1,443.0% from the February 13th total of 25,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 448,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LVTX. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1.50 target price (down from $2.00) on shares of LAVA Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of LAVA Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of LAVA Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $2.00 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of LAVA Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs cut LAVA Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.17.

Institutional Trading of LAVA Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LVTX. Sanofi acquired a new stake in LAVA Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,825,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of LAVA Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in LAVA Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $32,000.

LAVA Therapeutics Stock Down 0.7 %

LVTX traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1.34. 19,348 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 193,329. The stock has a market cap of $35.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 0.48. LAVA Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.85 and a 1-year high of $4.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.41.

LAVA Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LVTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported ($0.46) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.11). On average, equities research analysts anticipate that LAVA Therapeutics will post -1.13 EPS for the current year.

About LAVA Therapeutics

LAVA Therapeutics N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, focuses on developing cancer treatments. The company through its Gammabody platform, develops a portfolio of novel bispecific antibodies to engage and leverage the potency and precision of gamma delta T cells to elicit an anti-tumor immune response and enhance outcomes for cancer patients.