Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT)

Key Points

• Investors purchased 16,625 call options on Summit Therapeutics on Wednesday, a 387% increase versus the typical volume of 3,416, indicating unusually large bullish options activity.
• The stock slid $2.44 to $23.94 on heavy volume (~2.53M shares); Summit reported Q4 EPS of ($0.29) missing estimates of ($0.22) and currently trades with a market cap of $18.58 billion and a negative P/E.
• Analysts are mixed but the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $31, as recent notes range from "sell" to "strong buy."

Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 16,625 call options on the company. This is an increase of 387% compared to the typical volume of 3,416 call options.

Summit Therapeutics Price Performance

Summit Therapeutics stock traded down $2.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $23.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,531,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,323. Summit Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $13.83 and a 1-year high of $36.91. The stock's fifty day moving average is $17.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.51 and a beta of -1.36.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.07). As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Summit Therapeutics will post -1.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SMMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, January 30th. HC Wainwright dropped their target price on Summit Therapeutics from $40.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Summit Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $42.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $40.00 target price on Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Summit Therapeutics by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 36,391,063 shares of the company's stock worth $636,480,000 after buying an additional 2,668,089 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Summit Therapeutics by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,379,728 shares of the company's stock worth $235,105,000 after buying an additional 2,706,056 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Summit Therapeutics by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,371,415 shares of the company's stock worth $163,907,000 after buying an additional 4,832,592 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Summit Therapeutics by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,636,361 shares of the company's stock worth $116,070,000 after buying an additional 274,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Summit Therapeutics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,147,480 shares of the company's stock worth $55,063,000 after buying an additional 14,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.61% of the company's stock.

Summit Therapeutics Company Profile

Summit Therapeutics plc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of precision medicines for serious and life‐threatening diseases. The company applies a targeted approach to drug design, focusing on novel mechanisms of action that differentiate its candidates from existing therapies.

Summit's lead asset, ridinilazole (formerly SMT19969), is being developed to treat Clostridioides difficile infections and has received both Fast Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product designations from the U.S.

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