Short Interest in Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO) Decreases By 82.1%

Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 84,759 shares, a decline of 82.1% from the March 15th total of 473,057 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 63,170 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Harvard Bioscience Stock Performance

HBIO traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $4.66. The stock had a trading volume of 124,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,169. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.73. Harvard Bioscience has a 12 month low of $2.81 and a 12 month high of $9.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61. The firm has a market cap of $20.84 million, a PE ratio of -0.36 and a beta of 1.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBIO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Harvard Bioscience from $20.00 to $6.00 and set a “speculative buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Harvard Bioscience in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Harvard Bioscience from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, New Street Research set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Harvard Bioscience in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.00.

Insider Activity at Harvard Bioscience

In other Harvard Bioscience news, Director William Snider acquired 8,475 shares of Harvard Bioscience stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.85 per share, with a total value of $41,103.75. Following the purchase, the director owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $155,200. This trade represents a 36.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen J. Denelsky acquired 10,000 shares of Harvard Bioscience stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.87 per share, with a total value of $48,700.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 21,000 shares in the company, valued at $102,270. The trade was a 90.91% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 36,000 shares of company stock valued at $177,354. Insiders own 20.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Harvard Bioscience

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Harvard Bioscience in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Harvard Bioscience in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Corsair Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Harvard Bioscience by 1,008.7% in the 4th quarter. Corsair Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,108,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008,692 shares during the period. Meros Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Harvard Bioscience by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 1,217,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 299,369 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Harvard Bioscience in the 4th quarter worth approximately $124,000. Institutional investors own 80.87% of the company’s stock.

Harvard Bioscience Company Profile

Harvard Bioscience, Inc develops, manufactures and distributes life science research instruments and consumables used by academic, biopharmaceutical and government laboratories worldwide. The company’s product portfolio spans cellular physiology, microfluidics, electrophysiology and lab automation, providing tools that enable researchers to study everything from cell behavior and organ function to drug delivery and tissue mechanics.

Through its operating units—most notably Harvard Apparatus, BTX, Radnoti and Warner Instruments—Harvard Bioscience offers a diverse range of scientific equipment including precision pumps, stereotaxic instruments, electroporation and gene delivery systems, perfusion systems and microinjection tools.