Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICPT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICPT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,400,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the August 15th total of 9,520,000 shares. Approximately 29.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 986,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.5 days.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ICPT traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.06. The stock had a trading volume of 603,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,972. Intercept Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $8.82 and a 52 week high of $21.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.94.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $83.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.57 million. Intercept Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 68.07% and a negative return on equity of 189.98%. Intercept Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.68) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Intercept Pharmaceuticals will post -1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Intercept Pharmaceuticals by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,396,970 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,630,000 after buying an additional 1,338,026 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,180,224 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,233,000 after purchasing an additional 604,714 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,706,414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,755,000 after buying an additional 197,255 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,050,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,104,000 after buying an additional 341,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Intercept Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the second quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 777,402 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,598,000 after acquiring an additional 41,914 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals in a report on Saturday, August 19th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $13.00 in a report on Monday, June 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC downgraded Intercept Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercept Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.36.

Intercept Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat progressive non-viral liver diseases in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company markets Ocaliva, a farnesoid X receptor agonist used for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid in adults.