Short Interest in Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) Drops By 6.6%

Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,420,000 shares, a decline of 6.6% from the October 15th total of 1,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 178,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.0 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Galapagos

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLPG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Galapagos by 783.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,328 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 4,725 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Galapagos by 949.3% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 787 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Galapagos by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,366 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Galapagos by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 108,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,258 shares during the period. 32.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GLPG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Galapagos from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James cut shares of Galapagos from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Galapagos in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Galapagos to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.75.

Galapagos Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLPG opened at $27.00 on Tuesday. Galapagos has a 12-month low of $24.16 and a 12-month high of $42.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.88 and a 200 day moving average of $27.57.

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.