ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,150,000 shares, a decline of 8.5% from the December 15th total of 2,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 252,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.5 days.

ANI Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

ANIP traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $58.46. 302,520 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 215,598. ANI Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $52.50 and a fifty-two week high of $70.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.81.

ANI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANIP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The specialty pharmaceutical company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.25. ANI Pharmaceuticals had a positive return on equity of 15.87% and a negative net margin of 1.28%. The business had revenue of $148.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ANI Pharmaceuticals will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANIP has been the subject of several research reports. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of ANI Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on ANI Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised ANI Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on shares of ANI Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of ANI Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.71.

Insider Activity at ANI Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Stephen P. Carey sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.79, for a total value of $418,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 154,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,617,769.72. This represents a 4.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikhil Lalwani sold 33,481 shares of ANI Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.99, for a total value of $1,941,563.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 370,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,478,220.22. This trade represents a 8.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,381 shares of company stock valued at $2,441,556. 12.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ANI Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANIP. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in ANI Pharmaceuticals by 24.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,971 shares of the specialty pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in ANI Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $207,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ANI Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $222,000. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ANI Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ANI Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $228,000. Institutional investors own 76.05% of the company’s stock.

About ANI Pharmaceuticals

ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and markets branded and generic prescription pharmaceuticals in the United States and Canada. The company manufactures oral solid dose products; semi-solids, liquids, and topicals; controlled substances; and potent products, as well as performs contract development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.