Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 285,800 Shares of Innoviva, Inc. (NASDAQ:INVA)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Innoviva, Inc. by 96.5%, holding only 10,438 shares after selling 285,800 shares in the first quarter.
• Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Innoviva by 426.4%, now owning 400,613 shares valued at $6.95 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Innoviva, with Cantor Fitzgerald at $26.00 and HC Wainwright at $40.00, indicating positive outlooks on the stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Innoviva, Inc. (NASDAQ:INVA - Free Report) by 96.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,438 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 285,800 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Innoviva were worth $189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in INVA. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Innoviva by 426.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 400,613 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,951,000 after purchasing an additional 324,515 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Innoviva during the 4th quarter valued at $5,437,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Innoviva by 132.4% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 412,281 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,475,000 after purchasing an additional 234,898 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Innoviva by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,919,518 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $85,354,000 after acquiring an additional 226,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Innoviva by 142.5% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 330,631 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,736,000 after acquiring an additional 194,270 shares in the last quarter. 99.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on INVA. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Innoviva in a research note on Friday, July 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Innoviva from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Innoviva from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Innoviva in a report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Innoviva presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.75.

Innoviva Trading Up 1.7%

INVA traded up $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.44. 234,205 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 824,999. The company's fifty day moving average price is $19.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 2.64. Innoviva, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.67 and a fifty-two week high of $22.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 65.94 and a beta of 0.38.

Innoviva (NASDAQ:INVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $100.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.10 million. Innoviva had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 18.67%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Innoviva, Inc. will post 0.33 EPS for the current year.

About Innoviva

Innoviva, Inc engages in the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally. The company's products include RELVAR/BREO ELLIPTA, a once-daily combination medicine consisting of a LABA, vilanterol (VI), an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), and fluticasone furoate; ANORO ELLIPTA, a once-daily medicine combining a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) and umeclidinium bromide (UMEC) with a LABA, VI; GIAPREZA (angiotensin II), a vasoconstrictor to increase blood pressure in adults with septic or other distributive shock; XERAVA (eravacycline) for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections in adults; and XACDURO, a beta lactamase inhibitor for the treatment of hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia.