Short Interest in IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDYA) Increases By 6.7%

IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDYA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,410,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the March 15th total of 8,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 905,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.4 days. Approximately 14.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Briseno Andres Ruiz sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.03, for a total value of $84,060.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,097.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Briseno Andres Ruiz sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.03, for a total value of $84,060.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,097.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Yujiro S. Hata sold 23,557 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.54, for a total transaction of $1,072,785.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 677,887 shares in the company, valued at $30,870,973.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,557 shares of company stock worth $1,248,886. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDEAYA Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IDYA. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in IDEAYA Biosciences by 363.7% during the first quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 3,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of IDEAYA Biosciences by 96.3% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of IDEAYA Biosciences by 90.5% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of IDEAYA Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its holdings in shares of IDEAYA Biosciences by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 2,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IDYA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of IDEAYA Biosciences from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of IDEAYA Biosciences from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of IDEAYA Biosciences in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Capital One Financial restated an “overweight” rating on shares of IDEAYA Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of IDEAYA Biosciences from $43.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.55.

IDEAYA Biosciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ IDYA opened at $40.17 on Thursday. IDEAYA Biosciences has a 52-week low of $14.33 and a 52-week high of $47.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.93. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of -20.39 and a beta of 0.80.

IDEAYA Biosciences (NASDAQ:IDYA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.47) by ($0.05). IDEAYA Biosciences had a negative net margin of 483.05% and a negative return on equity of 23.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.84 million. IDEAYA Biosciences’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that IDEAYA Biosciences will post -2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About IDEAYA Biosciences

IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc, a synthetic lethality-focused precision medicine oncology company, discovers and develops targeted therapeutics for patient populations selected using molecular diagnostics in the United States. The company's products in development include IDE196, a protein kinase C inhibitor that is in Phase 2/3 clinical trials for genetically defined cancers having GNAQ or GNA11 gene mutations; IDE397, a methionine adenosyltransferase 2a inhibitor that is in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for patients with solid tumors having methylthioadenosine phosphorylase gene deletions, such as non-small cell lung, bladder, gastric, and esophageal cancers; IDE161, a poly ADP-ribose glycohydrolase inhibitor that is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat tumors with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), and other genetic or molecular signatures; GSK101, a Pol Theta Helicase inhibitor that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of tumors with BRCA or other homologous recombination, and HRD mutations; and Werner Helicase inhibitors for tumors with high microsatellite instability.