Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,500,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the October 31st total of 1,420,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 202,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.4 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galapagos

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLPG. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Galapagos by 56.7% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Galapagos by 140.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,259 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Galapagos by 48.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Galapagos by 63.2% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,899 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Galapagos by 21.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 4,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Galapagos from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Galapagos from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Leerink Partnrs raised Galapagos to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Galapagos in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Galapagos Price Performance

NASDAQ:GLPG opened at $27.07 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $28.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.42. Galapagos has a 12 month low of $24.16 and a 12 month high of $42.46.

Galapagos Company Profile

Galapagos NV, a biotechnology company, develops medicines focusing on oncology and immunology primarily in the United States and Europe. The company's pipeline products comprise GLPG3667 that has completed phase 1b trial; GLPG5101, a CD19 CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in Phase1/2 trial in relapsed/refractory non-hodgkin lymphoma; GLPG5201, a CD19 CAR-T product candidates manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 trial in replapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and GLPG5301, a BCMA CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.