Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ:ONCY) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Five analysts give Oncolytics an average rating of "Moderate Buy" (breakdown: 1 sell, 1 hold, 2 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $8.50.
• The stock opened at about $0.88 with a market cap of ~$102M, a negative PE and a recent quarterly EPS of ($0.08) that missed consensus by $0.02; analysts expect roughly -$0.20 EPS for the year.
• Significant insider buying occurred recently (304,282 shares bought totaling ~$259K over 90 days) and several institutional investors — including Citadel Advisors (~$535K stake) — have established new positions, while institutional ownership is about 6.82%.

Shares of Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ:ONCY - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.50.

A number of research analysts recently commented on ONCY shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Oncolytics Biotech from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings cut Oncolytics Biotech from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

Oncolytics Biotech Stock Performance

Shares of ONCY opened at $0.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.19 million, a PE ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average is $1.00 and its 200 day moving average is $1.02. Oncolytics Biotech has a fifty-two week low of $0.33 and a fifty-two week high of $1.51.

Oncolytics Biotech (NASDAQ:ONCY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.02). As a group, research analysts forecast that Oncolytics Biotech will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia S. Andrews purchased 35,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $0.86 per share, for a total transaction of $30,444.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 78,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,190.08. This represents a 82.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew Aromando purchased 29,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $0.86 per share, with a total value of $25,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 55,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,386. The trade was a 116.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 304,282 shares of company stock worth $259,232 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oncolytics Biotech in the 3rd quarter worth about $535,000. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oncolytics Biotech during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in Oncolytics Biotech during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Oncolytics Biotech during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Oncolytics Biotech in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Institutional investors own 6.82% of the company's stock.

About Oncolytics Biotech

Oncolytics Biotech Inc NASDAQ: ONCY is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel oncolytic viral therapies for the treatment of cancer. The company's lead investigational agent, pelareorep (Reolysin), is a proprietary formulation of reovirus engineered to selectively infect and destroy tumor cells while stimulating a systemic antitumor immune response. Oncolytics leverages the natural biology of the virus to enhance the activity of standard‐of‐care treatments and immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Pelareorep has progressed into multiple advanced clinical trials, with combination studies conducted in metastatic breast cancer, non‐small cell lung cancer and head and neck cancers.

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