Short Interest in Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSC) Increases By 496.0%

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 1,140,145 shares, a growth of 496.0% from the July 30th total of 191,291 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 84,955,912 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.0 days. Approximately 6.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Ensysce Biosciences Stock Up 11.6%

ENSC stock opened at $0.40 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $0.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.39. The stock has a market cap of $7.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 0.84. Ensysce Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $0.23 and a fifty-two week high of $2.75.

Ensysce Biosciences (NASDAQ:ENSC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.20). Ensysce Biosciences had a negative net margin of 280.53% and a negative return on equity of 2,550.30%. The company had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ensysce Biosciences will post -1.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ensysce Biosciences

In other news, Director Bob G. Gower bought 400,000 shares of Ensysce Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $0.49 per share, with a total value of $196,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 916,740 shares in the company, valued at $449,202.60. The trade was a 77.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ensysce Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in Ensysce Biosciences by 100.4% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 149,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC lifted its stake in Ensysce Biosciences by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 98,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 29,336 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ensysce Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ensysce Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 5.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ENSC. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Ensysce Biosciences in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ensysce Biosciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Sell”.

Ensysce Biosciences Company Profile

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel prodrug therapies aimed at improving pain management and addressing opioid misuse. Leveraging its proprietary prodrug platform, the company designs drug candidates that convert into active pharmaceuticals through specific enzymatic action, providing controlled-release profiles and built-in abuse deterrence features.

The company’s lead product candidate, ENS100, is an investigational oral prodrug of hydrocodone engineered to reduce the potential for misuse and abuse compared to immediate-release opioid formulations.