Ruffer LLP Invests $1.60 Million in Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $RIGL

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP established a new position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter, acquiring 37,244 shares worth approximately $1.60 million and representing about 0.21% of the company at quarter-end.
• Rigel reported quarterly EPS of $1.14 (missed consensus $1.33) with revenue of $69.8M (beat $68.7M); the company shows strong reported profitability metrics (net margin 124.72%, ROE 79.84%) and holds a MarketBeat consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $45.67.
• Shares opened at $30.47 (down 5.6%), market cap about $563M and a 52-week range of $16.88–$52.24; insiders own 10.47% of stock and director Walter H. Moos sold 4,000 shares in February.

Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 37,244 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,598,000. Ruffer LLP owned about 0.21% of Rigel Pharmaceuticals at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $4,310,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $2,235,000. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $578,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 64.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 36,215 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 14,135 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $1,286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.23% of the company's stock.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 5.6%

Rigel Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $30.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $563.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.27. Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.88 and a fifty-two week high of $52.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.45.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The biotechnology company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.70 million. Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 124.72% and a return on equity of 79.84%. Analysts predict that Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RIGL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Rigel Pharmaceuticals news, Director Walter H. Moos sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.36, for a total value of $145,440.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,722 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,571.92. This represents a 23.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.47% of the company's stock.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2003, Rigel focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule therapeutics targeting immune, hematologic and oncologic diseases. Leveraging a proprietary chemistry platform and expertise in signal transduction pathways, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in both rare and common disorders.

Rigel's lead product, fostamatinib (commercially known as Tavalisse®), is an oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).

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