B. Riley Downgrades Gritstone bio (NASDAQ:GRTS) to Hold

Gritstone bio (NASDAQ:GRTS) was downgraded by analysts at B. Riley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $0.50 price target (down from $4.00) on shares of Gritstone bio in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities cut Gritstone bio from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Gritstone bio Trading Down 6.3 %

NASDAQ GRTS opened at $0.21 on Tuesday. Gritstone bio has a 1 year low of $0.18 and a 1 year high of $3.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 2.54. The company has a market capitalization of $22.37 million, a PE ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $0.53 and a 200 day moving average of $0.84.

Gritstone bio (NASDAQ:GRTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.12. Gritstone bio had a negative return on equity of 328.51% and a negative net margin of 910.50%. The company had revenue of $0.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 million. Research analysts forecast that Gritstone bio will post -0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gritstone bio

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRTS. Artal Group S.A. acquired a new stake in Gritstone bio during the first quarter worth $2,650,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Gritstone bio by 4,598.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 553,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 541,377 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Gritstone bio by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,733,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,166,000 after buying an additional 317,499 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Gritstone bio in the first quarter valued at about $636,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Gritstone bio during the second quarter worth about $96,000. 48.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gritstone bio

Gritstone bio, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing vaccine-based immunotherapy candidates against cancer and infectious diseases. Its primary product candidate is GRANITE, an individualized immunotherapy candidate, which is in Phase 2/3 clinical trials for the treatment of microsatellite stable colorectal cancers; and has completed Phase 1/2 clinical trials for treating solid tumors.