Cytokinetics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CYTK)

Key Points

• Cytokinetics saw unusually heavy options activity on Wednesday, with 8,379 call options traded, about 79% above its average call volume of 4,678.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish, with several analysts raising price targets and issuing Buy/Overweight ratings; the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.90.
• Insiders have recently been selling shares, including CEO Robert I. Blum and EVP Andrew Callos, while institutional investors such as Tema ETFs and Handelsbanken Fonder increased their stakes.

Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 8,379 call options on the company. This is an increase of 79% compared to the average volume of 4,678 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CYTK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cytokinetics from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cytokinetics from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Cytokinetics in a research note on Monday, May 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Cytokinetics from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cytokinetics from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cytokinetics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cytokinetics

In other news, EVP Andrew Callos sold 15,857 shares of Cytokinetics stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $1,030,705.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,555 shares in the company, valued at $3,806,075. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert I. Blum sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.21, for a total transaction of $579,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 392,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,330,404.30. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 135,536 shares of company stock valued at $10,046,609 in the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cytokinetics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tema ETFs LLC increased its stake in Cytokinetics by 174.6% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 22,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 14,251 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its position in shares of Cytokinetics by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 304,611 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $25,950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,849 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Cytokinetics by 63.8% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 405,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,502,000 after purchasing an additional 157,700 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Cytokinetics by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Fleet Capital Management LP increased its position in Cytokinetics by 492.8% in the 1st quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP now owns 61,269 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,038,000 after buying an additional 50,934 shares in the last quarter.

Cytokinetics Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CYTK traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.97. The stock had a trading volume of 392,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,716. The company's 50-day moving average price is $77.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.85. Cytokinetics has a fifty-two week low of $32.89 and a fifty-two week high of $88.31. The company has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.67) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($1.67). The business had revenue of $19.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.36) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1112.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Cytokinetics will post -6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cytokinetics

Cytokinetics, Inc is a late‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel small‐molecule therapeutics that modulate muscle function. Founded in 1998 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company applies its proprietary insights in muscle biology to address diseases characterized by impaired muscle performance. Its research spans both cardiac and skeletal muscle targets, aiming to deliver innovative medicines for conditions with significant unmet medical need.

The company's most advanced program, omecamtiv mecarbil, is being evaluated for the treatment of heart failure by enhancing cardiac muscle contractility.

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