Zacks: Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Strong Buy” from Analysts

Posted by ABMN Staff on Mar 23rd, 2016

Shares of Emergent Biosolutions Inc (NYSE:EBS) have earned a consensus broker rating score of 1.00 (Strong Buy) from the three brokers that cover the company, Zacks Investment Research reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a strong buy recommendation.

Brokerages have set a 12 month consensus price target of $40.00 for the company and are predicting that the company will post ($0.10) EPS for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Zacks has also assigned Emergent Biosolutions an industry rank of 72 out of 265 based on the ratings given to related companies.

Shares of Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS) traded down 2.44% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.56. 160,761 shares of the company’s stock traded hands. Emergent Biosolutions has a one year low of $26.83 and a one year high of $40.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.18 and its 200 day moving average is $34.63. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73.

Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $168.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Emergent Biosolutions will post $1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

EBS has been the topic of several research reports. Cowen and Company reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a research report on Friday, February 26th. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Emergent Biosolutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo initiated coverage on shares of Emergent Biosolutions in a research report on Friday, February 19th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock.

In related news, Director Sue Bailey sold 11,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total value of $446,860.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,515. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Abdun-Nabi sold 63,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.06, for a total transaction of $2,468,943.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,240,474.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EBS. Acadian Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 112.7% in the fourth quarter. Acadian Asset Management now owns 913,260 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,537,000 after buying an additional 483,936 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company bought a new position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $0. Capital Impact Advisors raised its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 80.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Impact Advisors now owns 24,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $986,000 after buying an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Verde Servico Internacionais bought a new position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $822,250,000. Finally, EQIS Capital Management raised its position in shares of Emergent Biosolutions by 1,304.4% in the fourth quarter. EQIS Capital Management now owns 61,640 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after buying an additional 57,251 shares in the last quarter.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that offers specialized products to healthcare providers and Governments to address medical needs and emerging health threats. The Company’s two operating divisions include Biodefense and Biosciences. The Company’s Biodefense division is a pharmaceutical business focused on countermeasures that address CBRNE (NYSE:EBS) threats.