Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN) Short Interest Up 24.9% in January

Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,170,000 shares, a growth of 24.9% from the December 31st total of 5,740,000 shares. Approximately 5.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Origin Materials

In related news, CEO Richard J. Riley purchased 300,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.00 per share, with a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 749,083 shares in the company, valued at $749,083. This trade represents a 66.80 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John Bissell sold 55,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.00, for a total value of $55,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,976,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,976,230. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,525 shares of company stock worth $199,645 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Origin Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ORGN. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Origin Materials by 337.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,350,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813,047 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Origin Materials by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,486,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 87,751 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Origin Materials in the third quarter valued at $92,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Origin Materials by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 480,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Origin Materials by 352.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 98,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 77,119 shares during the period. 29.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Origin Materials Stock Performance

Origin Materials stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $0.90. 965,295 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,203,582. The company has a market capitalization of $132.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.59 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.24. Origin Materials has a 1 year low of $0.44 and a 1 year high of $1.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America cut Origin Materials from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $2.50 to $1.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

About Origin Materials

Origin Materials, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a carbon-negative materials company. The company develops a proprietary biomass conversion platform to convert biomass, or plant-based carbon into building block chemicals chloromethylfurfural and hydrothermal carbon, as well as other oils and extractives and other co-products.