Short Interest in AVITA Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCEL) Rises By 25.9%

AVITA Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:RCEL) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,460,000 shares, a growth of 25.9% from the December 15th total of 1,160,000 shares. Currently, 5.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 132,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 11.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in AVITA Medical by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 36,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 4,463 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in AVITA Medical during the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in AVITA Medical in the third quarter worth approximately $2,477,000. Huntington National Bank bought a new stake in AVITA Medical in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in AVITA Medical by 269.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 5,484 shares during the last quarter. 27.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AVITA Medical Stock Up 1.3 %

RCEL traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $8.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 178,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,736. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.18 and its 200-day moving average is $10.62. AVITA Medical has a 1 year low of $7.51 and a 1 year high of $18.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.88 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.73, a quick ratio of 3.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.48.

AVITA Medical (NASDAQ:RCEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.62) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.41) by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $19.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.65 million. AVITA Medical had a negative return on equity of 194.69% and a negative net margin of 95.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.34) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AVITA Medical will post -2.35 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RCEL. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of AVITA Medical in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. D. Boral Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of AVITA Medical in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Lake Street Capital dropped their target price on shares of AVITA Medical from $20.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price target (up previously from $9.00) on shares of AVITA Medical in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

AVITA Medical Company Profile

AVITA Medical, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a regenerative medicine company in the United States and internationally. The company's lead product is the RECELL System, a cell harvesting device used for the treatment of thermal burn wounds, full-thickness skin defects, and repigmentation of stable depigmented vitiligo lesions.