Short Interest in Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH) Grows By 7.3%

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,060,000 shares, a growth of 7.3% from the March 15th total of 5,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 540,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.2 days. Currently, 12.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, reaching $14.72. The stock had a trading volume of 304,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,274. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.19. Deciphera Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $9.90 and a 1 year high of $17.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.43 and a beta of 0.39.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DCPH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.58) by $0.04. Deciphera Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 119.33% and a negative return on equity of 49.44%. The firm had revenue of $48.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.60) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Deciphera Pharmaceuticals will post -2.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DCPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Institutional Trading of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Deciphera Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 18,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Deciphera Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 35,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Deciphera Pharmaceuticals by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Deciphera Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 87,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Deciphera Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 41,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.96% of the company’s stock.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops drugs to enhance the lives of cancer patients by addressing key mechanisms of drug resistance that limit the rate and durability of response to existing cancer therapies in the United States and internationally. Its lead drug candidate is QINLOCK used for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), as well as in INTRIGUE Phase 3 study to treat second-line GIST.