Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Chimerix, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.55 and last traded at $8.55, with a volume of 805519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $8.55 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Chimerix in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $8.55 target price (up from $7.00) on shares of Chimerix in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com started coverage on Chimerix in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $8.50 target price (down from $10.00) on shares of Chimerix in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Chimerix Stock Down 0.1 %

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $7.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $801.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.09 and a beta of -0.17.

Chimerix (NASDAQ:CMRX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 21st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $0.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.31 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chimerix, Inc. will post -0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael T. Andriole sold 7,370 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.52, for a total value of $33,312.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 609,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,405.56. This represents a 1.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,760 shares of company stock worth $91,175. Insiders own 13.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Chimerix

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMRX. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in shares of Chimerix in the fourth quarter worth $13,124,000. Rosalind Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chimerix in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,614,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Chimerix by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,557,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,900,000 after buying an additional 161,795 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Chimerix by 1,318.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,213,940 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,705,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boxer Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Chimerix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,169,000. 45.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chimerix

Chimerix, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines to improve and extend the lives of patients facing deadly diseases. Its pipeline products include ONC201 a program that is in Phase 3 clinical trial for treating patients with H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma, as well as in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of rare neuroendocrine tumors; and ONC206, an imipridone, Dopamine Receptor D2 (DRD2) antagonist, and caseinolytic protease P (ClpP) agonist, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for adult and pediatric patients with primary central nervous system tumors.