Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDMO)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDMO) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,780 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,259 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Avid Bioservices worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Avid Bioservices by 98.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 134,598 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 66,653 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avid Bioservices by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,466,155 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,688,000 after buying an additional 34,328 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Avid Bioservices by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 216,331 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 15,541 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in Avid Bioservices by 12,530.9% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,003,653 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,422,000 after buying an additional 995,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Avid Bioservices by 42.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,815,806 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $43,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.16% of the company’s stock.

Avid Bioservices Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ CDMO opened at $12.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $782.91 million, a P/E ratio of -5.12 and a beta of 1.44. Avid Bioservices, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.65 and a 12 month high of $12.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens downgraded Avid Bioservices from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Avid Bioservices from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avid Bioservices to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Avid Bioservices in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $12.50 price objective (up from $12.00) on shares of Avid Bioservices in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avid Bioservices currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.25.

Insider Transactions at Avid Bioservices

In other news, insider Richard A. Richieri sold 3,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.22, for a total transaction of $46,961.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,474.32. This trade represents a 7.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas Stewart Green sold 145,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.22, for a total transaction of $1,783,032.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,926,116.40. This represents a 48.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,890 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,227 in the last three months. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Avid Bioservices

Avid Bioservices, Inc operates as a contract development and manufacturing organization for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries in the United States. It provides process development and current good manufacturing practice clinical and commercial manufacturing services of biologics, including clinical and commercial drug substance manufacturing, bulk packaging, release and stability testing, regulatory submission and support, upstream and downstream development and optimization, analytical methods development, cell line development, testing, and characterization services.