Short Interest in Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) Increases By 1,242.5%

Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,515,828 shares, an increase of 1,242.5% from the June 15th total of 261,877 shares. Currently, 191.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 17,237,537 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Curis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Armistice Capital LLC raised its position in Curis by 8.7% during the third quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 978,190 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 78,265 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Curis by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 681,381 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 49,554 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Curis by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 366,740 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 125,823 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Curis by 2,883,237.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 230,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 230,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc increased its position in shares of Curis by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 109,746 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 49,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.97% of the company’s stock.

Curis Price Performance

NASDAQ CRIS remained flat at $4.96 during trading hours on Friday. 61,495 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 477,057. The company has a market cap of $9.67 million, a PE ratio of -0.21 and a beta of 3.08. Curis has a 1-year low of $3.61 and a 1-year high of $40.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.38.

Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The biotechnology company reported ($25.00) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($6.53) by ($18.47). As a group, equities analysts predict that Curis will post -25.5 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CRIS shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Curis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of Curis in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Curis to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Curis in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $340.00.

Curis Company Profile

Curis, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small molecule and antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s research centers on exploiting key signaling pathways and tumor microenvironment interactions to develop compounds with the potential to address unmet medical needs. Curis’ proprietary pipeline includes multiple programs at various stages of clinical and preclinical development, reflecting its emphasis on innovative oncology drug candidates.

Among Curis’ lead assets is CA-4948, an oral inhibitor of interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase 4 (IRAK4) partnered with Ikena Oncology, which is being evaluated in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.