Short Interest in Novan, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVN) Grows By 91.7%

Novan, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVN – Get Rating) saw a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 479,100 shares, an increase of 91.7% from the April 15th total of 249,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 127,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

NOVN stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.39. 91,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 137,855. Novan has a 12 month low of $2.24 and a 12 month high of $20.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.35 and a beta of 0.18.

Novan (NASDAQ:NOVN – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.42) by ($0.02). Novan had a negative return on equity of 152.89% and a negative net margin of 1,003.79%. The firm had revenue of $0.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.70) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Novan will post -2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other Novan news, Director John W. Palmour acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.63 per share, for a total transaction of $36,300.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 20,000 shares of company stock worth $70,480. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NOVN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Novan by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 789,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,112,000 after purchasing an additional 8,899 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Novan by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 382,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 38,293 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Novan by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 258,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 36,196 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Novan by 9.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 134,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 11,721 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Novan during the first quarter valued at about $501,000. Institutional investors own 12.95% of the company’s stock.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Novan in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “sell” rating for the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Novan in a research note on Tuesday, March 15th.

Novan Company Profile (Get Rating)

Novan, Inc, a pre-commercial nitric oxide-based pharmaceutical company, focuses on dermatology and anti-infective therapies. Its clinical stage dermatology drug candidates include SB204, a topical monotherapy for the treatment of acne vulgaris; SB206, a topical anti-viral gel for the treatment of viral skin infections; SB208, a topical broad-spectrum anti-fungal gel for the treatment of fungal infections of the skin and nails, including athlete's foot and fungal nail infections; and SB414, a topical cream-based gel product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases.

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