Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Stake in Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDMO)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its position in shares of Avid Bioservices, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDMO) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 311,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 18,340 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Avid Bioservices were worth $3,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Avid Bioservices by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 789,227 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,981,000 after acquiring an additional 57,111 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Avid Bioservices in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,489,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in Avid Bioservices by 97.3% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 153,070 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,742,000 after buying an additional 75,473 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Avid Bioservices in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,796,000. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in Avid Bioservices in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,107,000. 97.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Avid Bioservices

In related news, CEO Nicholas Stewart Green sold 145,911 shares of Avid Bioservices stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.22, for a total transaction of $1,783,032.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,620 shares in the company, valued at $1,926,116.40. This trade represents a 48.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel R. Hart sold 22,813 shares of Avid Bioservices stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.22, for a total transaction of $278,774.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 110,980 shares in the company, valued at $1,356,175.60. This represents a 17.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 349,850 shares of company stock valued at $4,288,259. Insiders own 3.05% of the company’s stock.

Avid Bioservices Stock Up 0.1 %

Avid Bioservices stock opened at $12.50 on Tuesday. Avid Bioservices, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.90 and a fifty-two week high of $12.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.38. The company has a market capitalization of $799.18 million, a PE ratio of -5.23 and a beta of 1.39.

Avid Bioservices (NASDAQ:CDMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.14). Avid Bioservices had a negative net margin of 101.07% and a negative return on equity of 33.18%. Research analysts expect that Avid Bioservices, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Avid Bioservices from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $12.50 price target (up from $12.00) on shares of Avid Bioservices in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Avid Bioservices in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Avid Bioservices from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avid Bioservices has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.25.

Avid Bioservices Company Profile

Avid Bioservices, Inc operates as a contract development and manufacturing organization for the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries in the United States. It provides process development and current good manufacturing practice clinical and commercial manufacturing services of biologics, including clinical and commercial drug substance manufacturing, bulk packaging, release and stability testing, regulatory submission and support, upstream and downstream development and optimization, analytical methods development, cell line development, testing, and characterization services.