Applied Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Applied Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,820,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the August 31st total of 9,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Applied Therapeutics Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ APLT traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.27. 867,737 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,841,315. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.39. The company has a market capitalization of $944.99 million, a P/E ratio of -4.49 and a beta of 2.03. Applied Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.79 and a 52-week high of $9.39.

Applied Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $0.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Therapeutics will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Applied Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. William Blair raised Applied Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Applied Therapeutics from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Therapeutics from $8.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Shoshana Shendelman sold 119,591 shares of Applied Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.93, for a total transaction of $709,174.63. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,690,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,816,675.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,919,000. Opaleye Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Therapeutics by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,092,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,660,000 after purchasing an additional 199,500 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $228,000. Propel Bio Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Therapeutics by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Propel Bio Management LLC now owns 6,111,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,561,000 after purchasing an additional 736,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StemPoint Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Therapeutics by 122.3% in the first quarter. StemPoint Capital LP now owns 2,017,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,864 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.31% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Therapeutics

Applied Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of a pipeline of novel product candidates against validated molecular targets in indications of high unmet medical need in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is AT-007 (also called govorestat) that has completed phase 3 for the treatment of galactosemia in healthy volunteers and adults, in pediatric clinical study for the treatment of galactosemia in kids, for treating enzyme sorbitol dehydrogenase, and for the treatment of phosphomannomutase enzyme-CDG.