Siga Technologies Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:SIGA)

Key Points

• Siga Technologies Inc. experienced a dramatic rise in options trading, with 1,200 call options purchased, marking an increase of approximately 1,438% from the typical daily volume.
• The company's stock recently traded at $8.87, reflecting a substantial market cap of $635.18 million, with notable earnings results showing a reported $0.49 EPS for the last quarter.
• Following a ratings revision, Wall Street Zen upgraded Siga Technologies from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased investor confidence.

Siga Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGA - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 1,200 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,438% compared to the average daily volume of 78 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Siga Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th.

Institutional Trading of Siga Technologies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Siga Technologies by 31.8% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 222,012 shares of the company's stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 53,534 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Siga Technologies by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 182,328 shares of the company's stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 62,103 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Siga Technologies by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,158,320 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,080 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Siga Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $815,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Siga Technologies by 7.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,370,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,511,000 after buying an additional 98,688 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Siga Technologies Price Performance

NASDAQ SIGA traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.78. 828,222 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 490,802. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.73. Siga Technologies has a 12-month low of $4.95 and a 12-month high of $9.62. The firm has a market cap of $628.74 million, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.94.

Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $81.12 million during the quarter. Siga Technologies had a net margin of 45.73% and a return on equity of 40.52%. As a group, analysts expect that Siga Technologies will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Siga Technologies Company Profile

SIGA Technologies, Inc, a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company, focuses on the health security related markets in the United States. Its lead product is TPOXX, an oral formulation antiviral drug for the treatment of human smallpox disease caused by variola virus. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in New York, New York.