Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Emergent Biosolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Emergent Biosolutions to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their target price on Emergent Biosolutions from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th.

Emergent Biosolutions Price Performance

NYSE EBS opened at $4.86 on Friday. Emergent Biosolutions has a fifty-two week low of $4.36 and a fifty-two week high of $14.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $7.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 5.42 and a quick ratio of 2.95. The firm has a market cap of $249.17 million, a P/E ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 2.35.

Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.68. The company had revenue of $234.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.50 million. Emergent Biosolutions had a positive return on equity of 16.35% and a negative net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts anticipate that Emergent Biosolutions will post -4.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Paul Anthony Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.40, for a total transaction of $25,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 159,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,336,423.20. This represents a 1.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Emergent Biosolutions

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,525,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Emergent Biosolutions by 22.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,757,158 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,884,000 after acquiring an additional 504,553 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Emergent Biosolutions by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,696,375 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,327,000 after acquiring an additional 250,616 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Emergent Biosolutions by 68.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,502,488 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Emergent Biosolutions by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,618,903 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $20,010,000 after purchasing an additional 237,153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.40% of the company’s stock.

About Emergent Biosolutions

Emergent BioSolutions is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing medical countermeasures and specialty products that address public health threats. The company’s portfolio includes vaccines, antibody therapies and critical care products designed to protect against biological, chemical and emerging infectious disease threats. Emergent has longstanding partnerships with government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), to support national preparedness programs.

Key commercial products in Emergent’s lineup include BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed), ACAM2000 (smallpox vaccine) and Vaxchora (cholera vaccine), alongside therapeutic treatments such as Anthrasil (anthrax immune globulin) and the naloxone-based nasal spray Narcan for opioid overdose reversal.