Galapagos (NASDAQ:GLPG) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's Why

Key Points

• Galapagos saw unusually strong trading with approximately 134,769 shares changing hands and the stock last at $28.3350 (previous close $28.00), though that volume was about 4% lower than the prior session.
• Analyst consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $36.50; recent notes include upgrades from Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings and RBC raising its price objective to $33.
• The company is valued at roughly $1.88 billion with a negative P/E of -18.14, is trading below its 50‑day ($30.81) and 200‑day ($31.95) moving averages, and analysts forecast -6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year despite a reported quarterly EPS of 13.92 and $1.06 billion in revenue.

Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 134,769 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the previous session's volume of 140,654 shares.The stock last traded at $28.3350 and had previously closed at $28.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GLPG. UBS Group reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Galapagos in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Galapagos from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Galapagos from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Galapagos from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Galapagos in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.50.

Galapagos Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.14 and a beta of 0.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $30.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.95.

Galapagos (NASDAQ:GLPG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Sunday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported $13.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Galapagos NV will post -6.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Galapagos

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Galapagos by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,949 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Galapagos by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,968 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Galapagos by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 22,459 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Galapagos in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners raised its stake in shares of Galapagos by 319.2% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 2,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.46% of the company's stock.

Galapagos Company Profile

Galapagos NV NASDAQ: GLPG is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Mechelen, Belgium, focused on the discovery and development of novel small-molecule therapies. Established in 1999 through the merger of Tibotec and Progenix, Galapagos has built a research platform targeting chronic inflammatory diseases, fibrosis and oncology. The company's discovery engine integrates human genetics, translational biology and medicinal chemistry to identify and optimize drug candidates with unique modes of action.

The company's pipeline encompasses multiple programs across various stages of development.

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