Sage Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAGE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Sage Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAGE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,170,000 shares, a decrease of 32.0% from the January 15th total of 6,130,000 shares. Currently, 7.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Sage Therapeutics by 126.0% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 6,423 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 3,581 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Sage Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sage Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sage Therapeutics by 66.1% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,742 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 4,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Sage Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $88,000. 99.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAGE has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Sage Therapeutics from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $12.00 target price (down previously from $14.00) on shares of Sage Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Sage Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Sage Therapeutics from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Sage Therapeutics from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $4.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.65.

Sage Therapeutics Stock Performance

SAGE traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $7.18. 1,993,826 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,430,069. Sage Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $4.62 and a twelve month high of $23.22. The company's 50 day moving average is $6.43 and its 200-day moving average is $6.83. The company has a market cap of $439.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.29 and a beta of 0.94.

Sage Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SAGE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.54) by ($0.02). Sage Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 317.29% and a negative return on equity of 50.29%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sage Therapeutics will post -6.46 EPS for the current year.

About Sage Therapeutics

Sage Therapeutics, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes brain health medicines. Its product candidates include ZULRESSO, a CIV injection for the treatment of postpartum depression (PPD) in adults; and ZURZUVAE, a neuroactive steroid, a positive allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors, targeting both synaptic and extrasynaptic GABAA receptors, for the treatment of postpartum depression.