Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 105,458 shares, a decrease of 97.0% from the June 30th total of 3,515,828 shares. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 111,499 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Curis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CRIS traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4.89. 108,491 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 482,422. Curis has a 12-month low of $3.61 and a 12-month high of $39.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.27. The firm has a market cap of $9.54 million, a P/E ratio of -0.21 and a beta of 3.08.

Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($25.00) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($6.53) by ($18.47). As a group, equities analysts expect that Curis will post -25.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRIS has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up from $17.00) on shares of Curis in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Curis to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Curis in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Curis from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRIS. Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in Curis by 8.7% in the third quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 978,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 78,265 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Curis by 7.8% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 681,381 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 49,554 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Curis by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 240,917 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 65,404 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Curis by 2,883,237.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 230,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 230,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Curis by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 59,140 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 8,973 shares in the last quarter. 29.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Curis

Curis, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small molecule and antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s research centers on exploiting key signaling pathways and tumor microenvironment interactions to develop compounds with the potential to address unmet medical needs. Curis’ proprietary pipeline includes multiple programs at various stages of clinical and preclinical development, reflecting its emphasis on innovative oncology drug candidates.

Among Curis’ lead assets is CA-4948, an oral inhibitor of interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase 4 (IRAK4) partnered with Ikena Oncology, which is being evaluated in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.