Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Embecta Corp. (NASDAQ:EMBC) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $18.20, but opened at $17.24. Embecta shares last traded at $17.87, with a volume of 39,838 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EMBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upgraded Embecta from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Embecta from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd.

Embecta Trading Down 4.1 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.20.

Embecta (NASDAQ:EMBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.20. Embecta had a negative return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 6.97%. As a group, analysts forecast that Embecta Corp. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Embecta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Embecta’s payout ratio is presently 44.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Embecta

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMBC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Embecta by 175.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Embecta by 11.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Embecta by 4.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Embecta by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 145,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Embecta by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 30,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.83% of the company’s stock.

About Embecta

Embecta Corp., a medical device company, focuses on the provision of various solutions to enhance the health and wellbeing of people living with diabetes. Its products include pen needles, syringes, and safety injection devices, as well as digital applications to assist people with managing patient's diabetes.