Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,630,000 shares, a growth of 12.4% from the December 15th total of 7,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AUTL. Redburn Atlantic raised Autolus Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Autolus Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Autolus Therapeutics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $7.00 to $7.60 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $10.40.

Autolus Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AUTL remained flat at $2.22 during midday trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 805,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,476,105. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $2.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.56. Autolus Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $2.07 and a 1-year high of $7.37. The firm has a market cap of $590.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.83 and a beta of 2.05.

Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.31) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.10). During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.26) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Autolus Therapeutics will post -0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autolus Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Autolus Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Autolus Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Autolus Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Autolus Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Herbst Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Autolus Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.83% of the company’s stock.

About Autolus Therapeutics

Autolus Therapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's clinical-stage programs include obecabtagene autoleucel (AUTO1), a CD19-targeting programmed T cell investigational therapy that is in Phase 1b/2 clinical trial for the treatment of adult ALL; AUTO1/22, which is in a Phase 1 clinical trial in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory ALL; AUTO4, a programmed T cell investigational therapy for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma targeting TRBC1 and TRBC2; AUTO6NG, a programmed T cell investigational therapy targeting GD2 in development for the treatment of neuroblastoma; and AUTO8, a product candidate to treat multiple myeloma.