Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID) Short Interest Update

Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 216,880 shares, a growth of 22.1% from the February 12th total of 177,566 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 100,609 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 100,609 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Rapid Micro Biosystems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.00.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Stock Performance

RPID opened at $2.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $129.41 million, a P/E ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 3.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.56. Rapid Micro Biosystems has a 52-week low of $1.86 and a 52-week high of $4.94.

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.05). Rapid Micro Biosystems had a negative return on equity of 95.40% and a negative net margin of 140.30%.The company had revenue of $11.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.93 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Rapid Micro Biosystems will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Sean M. Wirtjes sold 17,254 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.92, for a total value of $67,635.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 563,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,209,602.08. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Longitude Capital Partners Ii, sold 49,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.88, for a total transaction of $190,120.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 249,705 shares of company stock worth $1,021,364. Corporate insiders own 29.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rapid Micro Biosystems

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RPID. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 204,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 3,143 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 46.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 5,341 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Rapid Micro Biosystems in the second quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Rapid Micro Biosystems by 6.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 965,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after buying an additional 60,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rapid Micro Biosystems by 355.1% in the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 200,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 156,234 shares during the period. 52.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rapid Micro Biosystems

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ: RPID) develops and commercializes automated microbial detection and contamination control solutions for the life sciences industry. Its flagship offering, the Growth Direct® System, leverages digital imaging and proprietary growth indicator plates to identify and count microorganisms more rapidly than traditional culture-based methods. The company’s technology platform is designed to streamline quality control workflows in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and vaccine manufacturing settings, helping clients reduce release times and improve operational efficiency.

In addition to the Growth Direct® System, Rapid Micro Biosystems offers an integrated suite of software and consumables that support automated data capture, analysis and reporting.