10 Most Shorted Stocks That Are Loved by Analysts (READY TO EDIT 1)

7. ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIC)

Short Interest Percentage: 25.05%

Average Share Price Target: $19

Share Price Upside: 164.62%

ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIC) is a biotechnology company that is developing a host of cancer treatments and focusing on those that target cancers resistant to chemotherapy. Like most other biotechnology stocks, its shares are sensitive to regulatory approvals and the market performance of its treatments. The stock has lost 55% since early March after ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIC) released its financial report for the fourth quarter of 2023. The release saw CEO Jacob Chacko share that his firm had several key milestones for its products planned in 2025, which meant that investors saw little potential in the stock for 2024. At the same time, while ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIC) is expected to move forward with its cancer treatments in 2025, the firm struggled with inflation in 2023. Its research and development expenses grew by 38% during the period.

However, 2024 isn’t a complete empty calendar for ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIC). The firm successfully increased the dosage in a clinical trial of its lung cancer and tumor drug in April 2024. However, the shares didn’t respond favorably. ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIC) plans to conduct a dose escalation of another drug later this year, and provide an update for its prostate cancer treatment later during the year as well. The first quarter also saw the firm’s research and development expenses increase by 12% annually to sit at $22 million. Citi trimmed the share price target to $14 from $15 in May 2024 but kept a Buy rating on the stock. The bank’s slight shift came after ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIC)’s first quarter report which saw the phase 1b trial for the firm’s ORIC-533 treatment miss its previous target of a dose escalation in the first quarter.