Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,340,000 shares, an increase of 9.5% from the September 15th total of 3,050,000 shares. Currently, 13.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 329,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.1 days.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Inovio Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.74. 322,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,931. The company has a market capitalization of $148.73 million, a P/E ratio of -1.55 and a beta of 0.82. Inovio Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $3.89 and a 12-month high of $14.75. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $6.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.07.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.10) by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $0.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.56) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Inovio Pharmaceuticals will post -4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on INO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Inovio Pharmaceuticals from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Inovio Pharmaceuticals from $40.00 to $33.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of INO. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $82,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $88,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $184,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 62.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 31,565 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 12,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.79% of the company's stock.

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of DNA medicines to treat and protect people from diseases associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), cancer, and infectious diseases. Its DNA medicines platform uses precisely designed SynCon that identify and optimize the DNA sequence of the target antigen, as well as CELLECTRA smart devices technology that facilitates delivery of the DNA plasmids.