Short Interest in Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) Increases By 148.9%

Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 324,276 shares, an increase of 148.9% from the July 30th total of 130,308 shares. Currently, 16.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 481,898 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Curis Trading Down 0.7%

CRIS stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.49. The stock had a trading volume of 119,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 339,230. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.56. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 million, a P/E ratio of -0.10 and a beta of 3.13. Curis has a 1-year low of $1.40 and a 1-year high of $39.00.

Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The biotechnology company reported ($4.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($6.95) by $2.93. Curis had a negative return on equity of 2,365.94% and a negative net margin of 80.29%. Sell-side analysts predict that Curis will post -24.23 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Curis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Curis by 71.8% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,323 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 10,586 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Curis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Curis during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Curis during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Curis by 17.9% in the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 59,140 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 8,973 shares during the last quarter. 29.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRIS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Curis from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Curis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut Curis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Curis in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Curis currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

About Curis

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.