Needham & Company LLC Cuts Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) Price Target to $7.00

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 154.08% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on ABSI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Absci in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Absci from $6.40 to $5.89 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Absci from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Absci in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.78.

Absci Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABSI traded down $0.65 during trading on Thursday, reaching $2.76. The stock had a trading volume of 4,860,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,833,621. Absci has a 52 week low of $2.01 and a 52 week high of $6.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3.48 and its 200 day moving average is $3.05. The stock has a market cap of $411.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 2.11.

Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $0.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 million. Absci had a negative net margin of 2,737.94% and a negative return on equity of 60.21%. On average, research analysts forecast that Absci will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Absci

In related news, CAO Todd Bedrick bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2.70 per share, with a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 180,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,155.60. This trade represents a 5.87% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Menelas N. Pangalos purchased 95,785 shares of Absci stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.66 per share, with a total value of $254,788.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 113,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,133.60. This trade represents a 527.02% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 10.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC bought a new stake in Absci during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Absci in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Absci by 91.2% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 5,385 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Absci by 45.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 11,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Absci in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 52.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Absci

Absci Corporation operates as a data-first generative artificial intelligence (AI) drug creation company in the United States. The company combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create biologics for patients. Its integrated drug creation platform is designed to improve upon traditional biologic drug discovery by using AI to simultaneously optimize multiple drug characteristics that may be important to development and therapeutic benefit.