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

Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:RPID) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 317,445 shares, an increase of 46.4% from the February 26th total of 216,880 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 235,152 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ RPID traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.20. 226,900 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,093. Rapid Micro Biosystems has a twelve month low of $1.86 and a twelve month high of $4.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.54.

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $11.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.93 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rapid Micro Biosystems will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Rapid Micro Biosystems

In related news, major shareholder Longitude Capital Partners Ii, sold 49,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.88, for a total value of $190,120.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO John J. Addington Wilson sold 9,603 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.32, for a total value of $41,484.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 316,762 shares in the company, valued at $1,368,411.84. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 249,705 shares of company stock valued at $1,021,364. 29.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rapid Micro Biosystems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 156,234 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Rapid Micro Biosystems during the 4th quarter worth about $182,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 55,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 15,255 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 12.6% in the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 58,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Rapid Micro Biosystems by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 115,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 5,440 shares during the period. 52.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Rapid Micro Biosystems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.00.

Rapid Micro Biosystems Company Profile

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.