BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBIO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBIO) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,610,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the August 31st total of 17,710,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.9 days. Approximately 13.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

BridgeBio Pharma Trading Up 2.1 %

BridgeBio Pharma stock opened at $25.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.00. BridgeBio Pharma has a 1-year low of $21.62 and a 1-year high of $44.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.91 and a beta of 1.07.

BridgeBio Pharma (NASDAQ:BBIO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.00) by $0.61. The company had revenue of $2.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.98) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BridgeBio Pharma will post -2.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BridgeBio Pharma

In related news, CFO Brian C. Stephenson sold 4,155 shares of BridgeBio Pharma stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.69, for a total value of $102,586.95. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 85,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,103,390.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other BridgeBio Pharma news, CFO Brian C. Stephenson sold 4,155 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.69, for a total value of $102,586.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,103,390.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Neil Kumar sold 27,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.69, for a total transaction of $676,234.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,897,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,917,867.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,831,544 shares of company stock valued at $150,128,821 in the last ninety days. 24.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BridgeBio Pharma by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,222,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,828,000 after buying an additional 421,832 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. increased its position in shares of BridgeBio Pharma by 6.4% in the second quarter. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. now owns 3,632,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,014,000 after acquiring an additional 217,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of BridgeBio Pharma by 189.7% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,312,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,402,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169,143 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of BridgeBio Pharma by 101.1% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,212,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,975 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in BridgeBio Pharma by 44.5% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,646,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,698,000 after buying an additional 506,845 shares during the period. 99.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBIO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of BridgeBio Pharma in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of BridgeBio Pharma in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of BridgeBio Pharma in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on BridgeBio Pharma from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of BridgeBio Pharma from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.92.

About BridgeBio Pharma

BridgeBio Pharma, Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, creates, tests, and delivers transformative medicines to treat patients who suffer from genetic diseases and cancers. Its products in development programs include AG10, a next-generation oral small molecule near-complete TTR stabilizer that is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of TTR amyloidosis, or transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM); low-dose infigratinib, an oral FGFR1-3 selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which is in Phase 3 double-blinded, placebo-controlled pivotal study for the treatment option for children with achondroplasia; and BBP-631, an AAV5 gene transfer product candidate that is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH, driven by 21-hydroxylase deficiency, or 21OHD.