Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, a growth of 7.6% from the March 31st total of 2,100,000 shares. Currently, 8.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 492,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Inovio Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Keystone Financial Group lifted its position in Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 122,737 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 12,840 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 213.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 138,972 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 94,637 shares during the period. Pathstone Family Office LLC lifted its position in Inovio Pharmaceuticals by 344.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 148,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 114,989 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Inovio Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $178,000. Institutional investors own 26.79% of the company’s stock.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

INO stock opened at $11.45 on Wednesday. Inovio Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $3.89 and a 52 week high of $14.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.75 and its 200 day moving average is $40.59. The firm has a market cap of $267.59 million, a P/E ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 1.11.

About Inovio Pharmaceuticals

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of DNA medicines to treat and protect people from diseases associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), cancer, and infectious diseases. Its DNA medicines platform uses precisely designed SynCon that identify and optimize the DNA sequence of the target antigen, as well as CELLECTRA smart devices technology that facilitates delivery of the DNA plasmids.