Short Interest in PepGen Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) Increases By 229.6%

PepGen Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,810,000 shares, an increase of 229.6% from the February 13th total of 852,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 10.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of PepGen

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PepGen by 29.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 27,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 6,254 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of PepGen during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of PepGen by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 157,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 7,984 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of PepGen by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 57,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 11,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of PepGen during the third quarter worth about $130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PEPG. Bank of America cut shares of PepGen from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $3.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of PepGen in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

PepGen Price Performance

NASDAQ PEPG opened at $2.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.21. PepGen has a 12 month low of $1.16 and a 12 month high of $19.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.13 million, a P/E ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 0.96.

PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported ($0.68) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.81) by $0.13. As a group, analysts anticipate that PepGen will post -2.73 EPS for the current year.

PepGen Company Profile

PepGen Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of oligonucleotide therapeutics for use in the treatment of severe neuromuscular and neurologic diseases. Its lead product candidate is PGN-EDO51, an EDO peptide that is in Phase 2 clinical trial to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients.