Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,230,000 shares, a decrease of 10.6% from the March 15th total of 14,800,000 shares. Currently, 13.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Cytokinetics Stock Performance

CYTK opened at $69.00 on Wednesday. Cytokinetics has a 1-year low of $25.98 and a 1-year high of $110.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.13.

Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.62 million. The company’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.45) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cytokinetics will post -4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CYTK shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cytokinetics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on shares of Cytokinetics in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Cytokinetics from $63.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 28th. UBS Group cut shares of Cytokinetics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up previously from $60.00) on shares of Cytokinetics in a research report on Friday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cytokinetics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.33.

Insider Activity at Cytokinetics

In other news, CEO Robert I. Blum sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $1,017,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 441,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,971,111.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Robert I. Blum sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $1,017,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 441,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,971,111.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Fady Ibraham Malik sold 32,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $2,202,726.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 138,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,389,015.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,814 shares of company stock worth $9,605,955 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Cytokinetics by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,064,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $480,908,000 after acquiring an additional 113,654 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Cytokinetics by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,016,889 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $919,800,000 after buying an additional 273,565 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Cytokinetics by 7.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,091,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $166,087,000 after buying an additional 337,680 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Cytokinetics by 220.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,244,250 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $270,863,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cytokinetics by 4.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,734,696 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $61,044,000 after purchasing an additional 76,846 shares during the last quarter.

Cytokinetics Company Profile

Cytokinetics, Incorporated, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing muscle activators and inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases. The company develops small molecule drug candidates primarily engineered to impact muscle function and contractility.