Traders Purchase High Volume of Intellia Therapeutics Call Options (NASDAQ:NTLA)

Key Points

• Intellia Therapeutics experienced an unusual spike in options trading, with 8,959 call options purchased, marking a 192% increase from its average daily volume.
• Insider trades show mixed sentiment, as EVP Edward J. Dulac III sold 7,462 shares while Director William J. Chase acquired 100,000 shares, indicating varying levels of confidence among executives.
• Intellia's stock was up to $15.44 with a 52-week range from $5.90 to $23.68, following a quarterly earnings report that revealed a revenue increase of 104.3% year-over-year.

Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTLA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 8,959 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 192% compared to the typical volume of 3,071 call options.

Intellia Therapeutics Trading Up 10.7%

Shares of Intellia Therapeutics stock traded up $1.67 on Monday, hitting $17.26. 8,885,260 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,293,213. The company has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 2.28. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $11.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.74. Intellia Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $5.90 and a 52 week high of $21.94.

Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.03) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.26 million. Intellia Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 57.48% and a negative net margin of 908.48%.Intellia Therapeutics's revenue was up 104.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.52) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Intellia Therapeutics will post -5.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Edward J. Dulac III sold 7,462 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total value of $104,617.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 106,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,486,989.24. The trade was a 6.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William J. Chase acquired 100,000 shares of Intellia Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.03 per share, for a total transaction of $1,003,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 134,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,350,970.79. The trade was a 288.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,534 shares of company stock valued at $153,837 in the last quarter. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Intellia Therapeutics by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 63,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Intellia Therapeutics by 8.2% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Intellia Therapeutics by 24.8% in the second quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,988 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Intellia Therapeutics by 27.2% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,633 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Intellia Therapeutics by 13.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 11,803 shares of the company's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the period. 88.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on NTLA. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Intellia Therapeutics from $74.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Intellia Therapeutics from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Intellia Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intellia Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 6th. Finally, Chardan Capital cut their price objective on shares of Intellia Therapeutics from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.39.

About Intellia Therapeutics

Intellia Therapeutics, Inc, a genome editing company, focuses on the development of curative therapeutics. The company's in vivo programs include NTLA-2001, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; NTLA-2002 for the treatment of hereditary angioedema; and NTLA-3001 for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency associated lung disease.