The shares are rallying on the bull note
RBC initiated coverage on Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRBP) with an "outperform" rating and $23 price target -- a 245% premium to last night's close. The analyst in coverage waxed optimistic over the long-term upside potential of the drugmaker's lead drug lenabasum, which is currently undergoing trials in patients with cystic fibrosis and systemic sclerosis.
In response, CRBP is trading up 5.8% at $7.05. The shares shot nearly 54% higher back on Sept. 20, on the back of a well-received licensing deal, but have since been stuck beneath a trendline connecting lower highs from early October. Today's pop has the shares aiming for a close in positive year-to-date territory, having entered 2018 trading at $7.10.
Analysts have remained upbeat on the shares, with 100% of those in coverage maintaining a "buy" or better rating. Plus, the average 12-month price target sits all the way up at $23.33.
Short sellers, on the other hand, have been actively targeting CRBP stock. Short interest on the pharma name is up almost 82% since the start of the year, to 14.12 million shares, and hit a record high 14.53 million shares in the Nov. 1 reporting period. The current number of shorted shares accounts for 26.3% of the equity's available float, or 15 times the average daily pace of trading.