Silence Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:SLN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Silence Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:SLN) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 162,000 shares, an increase of 74.8% from the March 15th total of 92,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 241,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Silence Therapeutics Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ SLN traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.17. 104,414 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 156,256. The company has a market cap of $663.55 million, a PE ratio of -15.18 and a beta of 1.41. Silence Therapeutics has a one year low of $4.55 and a one year high of $27.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 4.56.

Silence Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SLN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.22). Silence Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 262.17% and a negative net margin of 171.41%. The company had revenue of $2.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.46 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Silence Therapeutics will post -1.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Silence Therapeutics from $29.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Silence Therapeutics in a report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Silence Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Chardan Capital lifted their target price on Silence Therapeutics from $26.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Silence Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Silence Therapeutics by 27.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 965,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,350,000 after purchasing an additional 205,815 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Silence Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $136,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Silence Therapeutics by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 69,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Silence Therapeutics by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 210,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,217,000 after purchasing an additional 55,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Silence Therapeutics by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 17,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,879 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.73% of the company’s stock.

Silence Therapeutics Company Profile

Silence Therapeutics plc, a biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery and development novel molecules incorporating short interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) to inhibit the expression of specific target genes in hematology, cardiovascular, and rare diseases. The company's mRNAi GalNAc Oligonucleotide Discovery platform consists of precision engineered product candidates designed to target specific disease-associated genes in the liver.