Belite Bio, Inc (NASDAQ:BLTE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Belite Bio, Inc (NASDAQ:BLTE) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 70,000 shares, a decrease of 21.5% from the March 15th total of 89,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 42,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Belite Bio Stock Performance

Belite Bio stock traded down $2.62 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $53.78. 24,368 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,379. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.45 and a beta of -1.52. Belite Bio has a 12-month low of $32.50 and a 12-month high of $86.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.76.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 17th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.02). On average, equities research analysts forecast that Belite Bio will post -1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belite Bio

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Belite Bio by 9,391.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 122,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,108,000 after buying an additional 121,151 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Belite Bio by 130.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 8,280 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Belite Bio by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Belite Bio by 28.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Belite Bio during the fourth quarter worth about $155,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BLTE. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Belite Bio in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

About Belite Bio

Belite Bio, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical drug development company, engages in the research and development of novel therapeutics targeting retinal degenerative eye diseases with unmet medical needs in the United States. The company’s lead product candidate is LBS-008 (Tinlarebant), an orally administered once-a-day tablet for maintaining the health and integrity of retinal tissues in autosomal recessive Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy patients.