Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JANX) Short Interest Up 43.1% in December

Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JANX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,410,000 shares, an increase of 43.1% from the November 30th total of 4,480,000 shares. Currently, 13.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 949,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on JANX shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Janux Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Janux Therapeutics from $70.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Lifesci Capital raised Janux Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Janux Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price target on Janux Therapeutics from $79.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $89.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. acquired 1,200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.75 per share, for a total transaction of $53,700,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,317,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,946,758.50. This represents a 14.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Alan Campbell sold 15,000 shares of Janux Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $1,005,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,054 shares in the company, valued at $16,217,618. This represents a 5.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,843 shares of company stock worth $5,130,437. 29.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Janux Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JANX. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Janux Therapeutics by 0.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,824,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,475,000 after buying an additional 47,075 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Janux Therapeutics by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,523,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,587,000 after acquiring an additional 721,563 shares during the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP boosted its position in shares of Janux Therapeutics by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Logos Global Management LP now owns 750,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,418,000 after purchasing an additional 600,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Janux Therapeutics by 6.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 662,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,107,000 after buying an additional 38,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Janux Therapeutics by 190.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 395,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,985,000 after buying an additional 259,445 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.39% of the company’s stock.

Janux Therapeutics Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ JANX traded down $1.59 on Monday, hitting $52.51. The stock had a trading volume of 200,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,849. The company’s 50-day moving average is $54.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.50. Janux Therapeutics has a one year low of $7.79 and a one year high of $71.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.88 and a beta of 3.29.

Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by ($0.18). Janux Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 10.47% and a negative net margin of 463.91%. The business had revenue of $0.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 million. Janux Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was down 82.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Janux Therapeutics will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

About Janux Therapeutics

Janux Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops immunotherapies based on Tumor Activated T Cell Engagers (TRACTr) and Tumor Activated Immunomodulators (TRACIr) platforms technology to treat patients suffering from cancer. The company's clinical candidates comprise JANX007, a prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA-TRACTr, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial in adults for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and the vasculature of other tumors; and JANX008, an epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR-TRACTr that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of multiple solid cancers, including colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.