Portage Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ:ALP) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Portage Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ:ALP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,354,529 shares, a decline of 33.3% from the August 15th total of 3,529,718 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,144,903 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 10.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Portage Biotech Stock Performance

ALP opened at $4.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.36 million, a P/E ratio of -0.01 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.39. Portage Biotech has a 52-week low of $3.20 and a 52-week high of $690.00.

Portage Biotech (NASDAQ:ALP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The company reported $23.75 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $0.05 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Portage Biotech will post -14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Portage Biotech in a research note on Friday, July 24th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on Portage Biotech in a report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.50 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Portage Biotech to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Portage Biotech to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Portage Biotech currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brittany Kaiser bought 9,350 shares of Portage Biotech stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.35 per share, with a total value of $50,022.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 16,766 shares in the company, valued at $89,698.10. The trade was a 126.08% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Fiorenzo Villani bought 10,382 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.07 per share, with a total value of $42,254.74. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 34,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $140,826.07. The trade was a 42.87% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 41,897 shares of company stock worth $191,245 in the last quarter.

Portage Biotech Company Profile

Portage Biotech (NASDAQ:ATON) is a biotechnology company focused on acquiring, developing and advancing therapeutic candidates and platform technologies. The company concentrates its development efforts primarily in areas such as oncology, immunology/inflammation and infectious disease, seeking to move programs from discovery and preclinical stages into clinical development through subsidiary companies and collaborative arrangements.

Portage structures its operations to support a diversified pipeline, advancing both small molecules and biologics by funding preclinical research, conducting clinical trials, and managing regulatory interactions.