Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JANX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JANX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,410,000 shares, a growth of 43.1% from the November 30th total of 4,480,000 shares. Currently, 13.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 949,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Ventures Xi L.P. Avalon sold 1,843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total transaction of $92,186.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,677.42. This represents a 22.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 1,200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $44.75 per share, for a total transaction of $53,700,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,317,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,946,758.50. The trade was a 14.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,843 shares of company stock worth $5,130,437 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 29.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Janux Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Janux Therapeutics by 18.7% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Janux Therapeutics by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Janux Therapeutics by 61.1% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 970 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in Janux Therapeutics by 48.0% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 2,419 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in Janux Therapeutics by 8.7% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 42,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after buying an additional 3,360 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JANX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Janux Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Janux Therapeutics from $82.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Janux Therapeutics from $42.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Janux Therapeutics from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Janux Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Janux Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.90.

Janux Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JANX traded down $1.60 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $52.50. The stock had a trading volume of 522,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 782,518. Janux Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $7.79 and a 1 year high of $71.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.43 and its 200-day moving average is $47.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.87 and a beta of 3.29.

Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $0.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 million. Janux Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 463.91% and a negative return on equity of 10.47%. The business’s revenue was down 82.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Janux Therapeutics will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

About Janux Therapeutics

Janux Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops immunotherapies based on Tumor Activated T Cell Engagers (TRACTr) and Tumor Activated Immunomodulators (TRACIr) platforms technology to treat patients suffering from cancer. The company's clinical candidates comprise JANX007, a prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA-TRACTr, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial in adults for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and the vasculature of other tumors; and JANX008, an epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR-TRACTr that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of multiple solid cancers, including colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.