Short Interest in Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFCR) Expands By 6.4%

Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFCR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,500,000 shares, an increase of 6.4% from the December 15th total of 2,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.4 days. Currently, 7.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on LFCR. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Lifecore Biomedical from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of Lifecore Biomedical in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Lifecore Biomedical

In related news, CEO Paul Josephs purchased 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.74 per share, with a total value of $97,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 559,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,212,775.58. This represents a 3.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 28.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifecore Biomedical

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legion Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Lifecore Biomedical by 0.6% in the second quarter. Legion Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 2,968,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,228,000 after acquiring an additional 18,182 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lifecore Biomedical by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 597,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after purchasing an additional 55,703 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Lifecore Biomedical by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 334,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 30,916 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Lifecore Biomedical by 87.3% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 300,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 139,887 shares during the period. Finally, 272 Capital LP lifted its stake in Lifecore Biomedical by 511.1% in the third quarter. 272 Capital LP now owns 143,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 120,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.36% of the company’s stock.

Lifecore Biomedical Stock Up 0.6 %

LFCR stock opened at $6.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.89. Lifecore Biomedical has a 12-month low of $3.68 and a 12-month high of $8.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.21, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Lifecore Biomedical (NASDAQ:LFCR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 2nd. The company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.02. Lifecore Biomedical had a negative net margin of 12.52% and a negative return on equity of 315.23%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lifecore Biomedical will post -1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lifecore Biomedical Company Profile

Lifecore Biomedical, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated contract development and manufacturing organization in the United States and internationally. The company engages in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical-grade sodium hyaluronate (HA) in bulk form, as well as formulated and filled syringes and vials for injectable products used in treating a range of medical conditions and procedures.