Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS – Get Rating) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.83.

EBS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Chardan Capital dropped their target price on Emergent BioSolutions from $75.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Emergent BioSolutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Emergent BioSolutions from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Cowen cut their price target on shares of Emergent BioSolutions from $40.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Emergent BioSolutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 20th.

EBS opened at $32.38 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.91 and its 200-day moving average is $43.50. Emergent BioSolutions has a 52-week low of $29.88 and a 52-week high of $68.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.88.

Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.05). Emergent BioSolutions had a net margin of 8.96% and a return on equity of 16.08%. The firm had revenue of $307.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Emergent BioSolutions’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Emergent BioSolutions will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBS. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Emergent BioSolutions by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,076,901 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $351,104,000 after buying an additional 2,249,296 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Emergent BioSolutions by 1,413.9% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 945,338 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,093,000 after buying an additional 882,893 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Emergent BioSolutions by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,032,727 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $131,833,000 after acquiring an additional 628,137 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Emergent BioSolutions during the 4th quarter valued at $18,535,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Emergent BioSolutions by 5,127.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 400,368 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,404,000 after acquiring an additional 392,709 shares during the period. 86.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Emergent BioSolutions Company Profile (Get Rating)

Emergent BioSolutions Inc, a life sciences company, focuses on the provision of preparedness and response solutions that address accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats (PHTs) in the United States. The company's products address PHTs, which include chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives; emerging infectious diseases; travel health; and emerging health crises and acute/emergency care.

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