Incyte Co. (NASDAQ:INCY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Incyte Co. (NASDAQ:INCY - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,790,000 shares, a growth of 14.9% from the January 15th total of 5,040,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,980,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Incyte Price Performance

Shares of Incyte stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.05. 1,321,036 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,888. The company has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 266.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Incyte has a 52-week low of $50.35 and a 52-week high of $83.95.

Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.48). Incyte had a return on equity of 0.05% and a net margin of 0.77%. Sell-side analysts expect that Incyte will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on INCY shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $52.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of Incyte in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Incyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Incyte from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group began coverage on Incyte in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Incyte in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Incyte news, EVP Vijay K. Iyengar sold 6,043 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total transaction of $455,521.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,311,000.04. This trade represents a 16.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas Tray sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.31, for a total value of $45,051.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,615,754.72. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,695 shares of company stock worth $1,444,356 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Incyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Incyte by 144.7% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 389 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Incyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Incyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Incyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.97% of the company's stock.

Incyte Company Profile

Incyte Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for hematology/oncology, and inflammation and autoimmunity areas in the United States and internationally. The company offers JAKAFI (ruxolitinib) for treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease; MONJUVI (tafasitamab-cxix)/MINJUVI (tafasitamab) for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; PEMAZYRE (pemigatinib), a fibroblast growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor that act as oncogenic drivers in liquid and solid tumor types; ICLUSIG (ponatinib) to treat chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia; and ZYNYZ (retifanlimab-dlwr) to treat adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma, as well as OPZELURA cream for treatment of atopic dermatitis.