Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT)

Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 10,819 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 32% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,173 call options.

Summit Therapeutics Stock Up 7.6%

SMMT stock opened at $24.35 on Friday. Summit Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $6.90 and a 52-week high of $36.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.60 and a beta of -1.01.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.01. As a group, analysts anticipate that Summit Therapeutics will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Summit Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 252.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 205,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,661,000 after buying an additional 147,003 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 29,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 333,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,951,000 after buying an additional 84,117 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Summit Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Summit Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SMMT shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Summit Therapeutics from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Summit Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Summit Therapeutics to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.67.

About Summit Therapeutics

Summit Therapeutics Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovery, development, and commercialization of patient, physician, caregiver, and societal friendly medicinal therapies in the United States, and the United Kingdom. The company’s lead development candidate is Ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody for immunotherapy through blockade of PD-1 with the anti-angiogenesis; and anti-infectives portfolio includes SMT-738, a novel class of precision antibiotics for the treatment of multidrug resistant infections, which primarily includes carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections.