Opaleye Management Inc. Buys Shares of 1,384,993 Replimune Group, Inc. $REPL

Key Points

• Opaleye Management initiated a position of 1,384,993 Replimune shares worth approximately $15.3 million, representing about 1.48% of the company and 1.4% of Opaleye’s portfolio. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.53% of REPL.
• Replimune shares opened at $13.24, near the upper portion of their $1.50–$16.33 one-year range. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.72 per share, slightly worse than analysts’ $0.69 consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $12.00 price target, although insiders have sold 79,124 shares worth about $1.04 million over the past 90 days, primarily to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards.

Opaleye Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Replimune Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:REPL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,384,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,332,000. Replimune Group makes up about 1.4% of Opaleye Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Opaleye Management Inc. owned approximately 1.48% of Replimune Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in REPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Replimune Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Replimune Group during the second quarter worth about $62,000. Essential Partners LLC grew its position in Replimune Group by 562,400.0% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 5,624 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Replimune Group by 37.5% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,889 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,879 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Replimune Group in the second quarter valued at about $69,000. 92.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Replimune Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:REPL opened at $13.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 5.23 and a current ratio of 5.23. The business's fifty day moving average price is $12.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of -4.20 and a beta of 0.94. Replimune Group, Inc. has a one year low of $1.50 and a one year high of $16.33.

Replimune Group (NASDAQ:REPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.69) by ($0.03). On average, analysts forecast that Replimune Group, Inc. will post -2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush upgraded shares of Replimune Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $12.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wolfe Research raised Replimune Group to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Replimune Group from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised Replimune Group from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Replimune Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Replimune Group news, CFO Emily Hill sold 9,256 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.28, for a total transaction of $132,175.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 215,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,082,366.56. This trade represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Konstantinos Xynos sold 11,447 shares of Replimune Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.97, for a total transaction of $148,467.59. Following the sale, the insider owned 224,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,908,068.55. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,124 shares of company stock worth $1,038,364. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Replimune Group Profile

Replimune Group, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company focused on developing next‐generation oncolytic immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors. The company's proprietary “RP” platform leverages genetically engineered herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) vectors armed with immunomodulatory payloads to selectively infect, replicate within and destroy cancer cells, while also stimulating systemic antitumor immune responses.

Replimune's lead candidate, RP1, incorporates GM-CSF and a fusogenic protein to enhance both direct oncolysis and immune activation.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding REPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Replimune Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:REPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.