Apogee Therapeutics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:APGE)

Key Points

• Apogee Therapeutics saw unusually heavy options activity on Tuesday, with investors buying 5,182 put options, an 870% jump above the average volume of 534 puts.
• AbbVie agreed to acquire Apogee in an all-cash deal valued at about $10.9 billion, implying a payout of $135.11 per share and lifting the stock near its 12-month high.
• Analysts have turned more cautious after the deal, with several firms downgrading the stock to neutral/hold, while shareholder law firms have launched investigations into whether the buyout price is fair.

Apogee Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:APGE - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 5,182 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 870% compared to the average volume of 534 put options.

Key Headlines Impacting Apogee Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Apogee Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AbbVie agreed to acquire Apogee Therapeutics in an all-cash deal worth about $10.9 billion, sending shares higher as investors price in the $135.11 per share payout. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The acquisition gives Apogee shareholders a defined cash value and reflects AbbVie’s interest in Apogee’s immunology and inflammation pipeline, reinforcing the strategic value of the business. WSJ article
• Neutral Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity and Citi both moved to neutral ratings after the deal, which may limit additional upside from the current level. The Fly article
• Negative Sentiment: Several shareholder law firms announced investigations into the transaction, creating potential legal noise around whether the buyout price is fair. PR Newswire article

Apogee Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:APGE traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $132.76. 3,854,457 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,507,116. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.65 and a beta of 0.62. Apogee Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $34.34 and a 12-month high of $133.00.

Apogee Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APGE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.07) by $0.01. As a group, analysts forecast that Apogee Therapeutics will post -4.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apogee Therapeutics news, CEO Michael Thomas Henderson sold 20,000 shares of Apogee Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.58, for a total transaction of $1,651,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,132,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,562,066.46. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Carl Dambkowski sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.71, for a total transaction of $432,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 205,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,186,554.08. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 76,500 shares of company stock worth $6,323,295 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 24.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APGE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Apogee Therapeutics by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Apogee Therapeutics by 100.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 260,335 shares of the company's stock worth $9,726,000 after buying an additional 130,164 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Apogee Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $392,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Apogee Therapeutics by 7.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 27,689 shares of the company's stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 1,907 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Apogee Therapeutics by 10,570.6% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 21,564 shares in the last quarter. 79.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lowered shares of Apogee Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday. UBS Group downgraded Apogee Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $135.11 in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $89.00 target price on Apogee Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Craig Hallum set a $135.11 target price on Apogee Therapeutics and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered Apogee Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $119.08.

Apogee Therapeutics Company Profile

Apogee Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics that selectively target the nuclear receptor RORγt, a master regulator of T cell-driven inflammatory pathways. By modulating RORγt activity, Apogee aims to offer an oral treatment option for patients with autoimmune and inflammatory skin disorders.

The company's lead candidate, APG-157, is an oral RORγt inverse agonist currently undergoing early-stage clinical evaluation for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

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