Short Interest in Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO) Increases By 187.2%

Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 243,452 shares, an increase of 187.2% from the March 31st total of 84,759 shares. Approximately 6.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 98,327 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen J. Denelsky purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.87 per share, for a total transaction of $48,700.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 21,000 shares in the company, valued at $102,270. This trade represents a 90.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William Snider purchased 8,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.85 per share, for a total transaction of $41,103.75. Following the purchase, the director owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,200. This represents a 36.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 36,000 shares of company stock worth $177,354 in the last 90 days. 20.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Harvard Bioscience

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Harvard Bioscience in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Harvard Bioscience in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Corsair Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Harvard Bioscience by 1,008.7% in the 4th quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,108,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 1,008,692 shares during the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Harvard Bioscience by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 1,217,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 299,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Harvard Bioscience in the 4th quarter worth about $124,000. 80.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HBIO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. New Street Research set a $6.00 price target on shares of Harvard Bioscience in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Harvard Bioscience in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Harvard Bioscience from $20.00 to $6.00 and set a “speculative buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Harvard Bioscience from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Harvard Bioscience Price Performance

Shares of Harvard Bioscience stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $6.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,882. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.84. Harvard Bioscience has a one year low of $2.81 and a one year high of $9.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $29.45 million, a P/E ratio of -0.51 and a beta of 1.50.

Harvard Bioscience Company Profile

Harvard Bioscience, Inc develops, manufactures and distributes life science research instruments and consumables used by academic, biopharmaceutical and government laboratories worldwide. The company’s product portfolio spans cellular physiology, microfluidics, electrophysiology and lab automation, providing tools that enable researchers to study everything from cell behavior and organ function to drug delivery and tissue mechanics.

Through its operating units—most notably Harvard Apparatus, BTX, Radnoti and Warner Instruments—Harvard Bioscience offers a diverse range of scientific equipment including precision pumps, stereotaxic instruments, electroporation and gene delivery systems, perfusion systems and microinjection tools.