Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on CG Oncology (NASDAQ:CGON)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity surged in CG Oncology, with investors buying 18,243 call options on Monday, about 574% above the stock’s typical volume.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with 11 Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy rating, though one firm recently downgraded it to Sell. The average price target stands at $81.73.
• Shares rose 1.8% to $73.24, near the 52-week high of $75.50, while recent insider selling and mixed earnings results added to investor attention.

CG Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGON - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 18,243 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 574% compared to the typical volume of 2,705 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CGON. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on CG Oncology from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of CG Oncology in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CG Oncology from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of CG Oncology in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut CG Oncology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CG Oncology news, Director Leonard E. Post sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $350,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Mulay sold 1,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.12, for a total value of $118,075.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,318.48. This trade represents a 75.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,564 shares of company stock valued at $1,986,532. 4.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of CG Oncology by 190.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,512,779 shares of the company's stock worth $222,055,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,885 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in CG Oncology by 116.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,443,144 shares of the company's stock worth $142,961,000 after buying an additional 1,854,386 shares during the last quarter. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP bought a new stake in CG Oncology during the fourth quarter worth $62,909,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in CG Oncology by 409.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,736,769 shares of the company's stock worth $45,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in CG Oncology by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,996,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,423,000 after acquiring an additional 950,028 shares during the last quarter. 26.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CG Oncology Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CGON traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $73.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 579,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,684. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.43 and a beta of 0.31. CG Oncology has a fifty-two week low of $23.65 and a fifty-two week high of $75.50.

CG Oncology (NASDAQ:CGON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.58) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.45 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CG Oncology will post -2.89 EPS for the current year.

CG Oncology Company Profile

CG Oncology, Inc NASDAQ: CGON is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibody-based immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. The company leverages a platform-driven approach to identify and optimize antibody candidates that engage key immune checkpoints and co-stimulatory pathways within the tumor microenvironment. Its pipeline encompasses multiple preclinical programs alongside early-phase clinical trials designed to assess safety, dosing and preliminary anti-tumor activity.

Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, CG Oncology conducts clinical research primarily in the United States, collaborating with leading academic medical centers and contract research organizations to advance its lead candidates.

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