Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA)

Key Points

• Investors showed significant interest in Cassava Sciences, purchasing 8,916 call options, marking a 127% increase from the usual volume.
• CEO Richard Barry and insider Robert Christopher Cook made notable share purchases, with Barry acquiring 47,308 shares valued at over $108,000, increasing his stake by 7.17%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" for Cassava Sciences, with a price target set at $2.00.

Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 8,916 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 127% compared to the typical volume of 3,926 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard Barry acquired 47,308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.29 per share, for a total transaction of $108,335.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 707,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,620,181.87. The trade was a 7.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Christopher Cook acquired 13,725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.91 per share, with a total value of $39,939.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,939.75. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 258,838 shares of company stock valued at $591,645 over the last 90 days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cassava Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cassava Sciences by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 496,313 shares of the company's stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 217,404 shares during the period. GMT Capital Corp bought a new stake in Cassava Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $675,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Cassava Sciences by 30.0% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 9,288 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Cassava Sciences by 426.9% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 37,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 30,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Cassava Sciences by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 361,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 41,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Cassava Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $2.00.

Cassava Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SAVA traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $3.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,300,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,833,047. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $2.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.26. Cassava Sciences has a 12 month low of $1.15 and a 12 month high of $33.98. The firm has a market cap of $184.79 million, a P/E ratio of -1.51 and a beta of -0.98.

Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cassava Sciences will post -3.97 EPS for the current year.

Cassava Sciences Company Profile

Cassava Sciences, Inc, a clinical stage biotechnology company, develops drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. Its lead therapeutic product candidate is simufilam, a small molecule drug, which is completed Phase 2 clinical trial; and investigational diagnostic product candidate is SavaDx, a blood-based biomarker/diagnostic to detect Alzheimer's disease.

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