Short Interest in ESSA Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:EPIX) Declines By 5.3%

ESSA Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ:EPIX - Get Free Report) TSE: EPI was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 901,200 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the December 15th total of 951,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 969,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

ESSA Pharma Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EPIX remained flat at $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 57,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,310. The company has a market capitalization of $77.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 1.61. ESSA Pharma has a 52-week low of $1.40 and a 52-week high of $11.67. The business's fifty day moving average is $1.74 and its 200 day moving average is $4.07.

ESSA Pharma (NASDAQ:EPIX - Get Free Report) TSE: EPI last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 17th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.05. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ESSA Pharma will post -0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at ESSA Pharma

In related news, major shareholder Growth N. V. Biotech sold 7,879,583 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.53, for a total transaction of $12,055,761.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 14.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ESSA Pharma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EPIX. Magnus Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of ESSA Pharma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in ESSA Pharma during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. RTW Investments LP lifted its holdings in ESSA Pharma by 41.9% in the 3rd quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 3,261,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,765,000 after purchasing an additional 962,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of ESSA Pharma by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 345,902 shares of the company's stock worth $2,096,000 after purchasing an additional 93,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered shares of ESSA Pharma from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer downgraded ESSA Pharma from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded ESSA Pharma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

ESSA Pharma Company Profile

ESSA Pharma Inc, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, focuses the development of small molecule drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer. The company's lead candidate EPI-7386, an androgen receptor based resistance mechanisms that develop in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.