- In a report issued Monday, Jefferies analysts Eun K. Yang and Carmen Augustine looked into short interest in the biotech industry.
- According to the note, as of December 15, 2015, levels of weighted-average short interest remained unchanged for large-cap (more than $10 billion in market cap) and mid-cap ($2 billion to $10 billion) biotech stocks.
- However, weighted-average short interest levels rose 0.4 percent for smid-caps ($500 million to $2 billion) and decreased 0.8 percent for small-caps ($250 million-$500 million) and 0.9 percent for micro-caps (under $250 million).
In a recent report, analysts at Jefferies shared a look into short interest in the biotech industry. On top of the aggregate data referenced above, the experts looked at the top five biggest increases in short interest and top five biotechs by short interest of float.
According to the experts, overall, Global Blood Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: GBT) saw the biggest percentage increase in short interest as a percentage of float (+4.5 percent), while KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: KBIO) had the biggest percentage decrease (-15.2 percent).
Biggest Percentage Increases In Short Interest
The companies that witnessed the biggest percentage increases in short interest were:
|
Company
|
% Change
|
|
Global Blood Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GBT)
|
4.5%
|
|
Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ: CLVS)
|
3.8%
|
|
bluebird bio Inc (NASDAQ: BLUE)
|
3.0%
|
|
Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ: EPZM)
|
2.7%
|
|
Puma Biotechnology Inc (NYSE: PBYI)
|
2.5%
|
Highest Short Interest As A Percentage Of Float
The companies with the highest short interest as a percentage of their floats were:
|
Company
|
% Change
|
|
Tokai Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: TKAI)
|
52.2%
|
|
MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD)
|
43.6%
|
|
Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN)
|
34.2%
|
|
Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX)
|
31.9%
|
|
KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: KBIO)
|
31.5%
|
Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.
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Latest Ratings for GBT
| Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
|---|
| Sep 2015 | Morgan Stanley | Initiates Coverage on | | Overweight |
| Sep 2015 | Cowen & Company | Initiates Coverage on | | Outperform |
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