Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN) Short Interest Up 24.9% in January

Origin Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORGN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,170,000 shares, a growth of 24.9% from the December 31st total of 5,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days. Approximately 5.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Bank of America downgraded Origin Materials from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $2.50 to $1.50 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Bissell sold 36,000 shares of Origin Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.14, for a total value of $41,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,581,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,802,602.20. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Joshua C. Lee sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.02, for a total value of $25,500.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 629,785 shares in the company, valued at $642,380.70. The trade was a 3.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 189,525 shares of company stock worth $199,645 in the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ORGN. Capstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Origin Materials during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Origin Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Origin Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $159,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Origin Materials by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,486,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 87,751 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Origin Materials by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 154,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 26,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.91% of the company’s stock.

Origin Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ORGN traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $0.95. 1,774,002 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,208,357. The firm has a market cap of $139.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.67 and a beta of 0.89. Origin Materials has a 12-month low of $0.44 and a 12-month high of $1.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.24.

Origin Materials Company Profile

Origin Materials, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a carbon-negative materials company. The company develops a proprietary biomass conversion platform to convert biomass, or plant-based carbon into building block chemicals chloromethylfurfural and hydrothermal carbon, as well as other oils and extractives and other co-products.