CG Oncology Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CGON)

Key Points

• CG Oncology saw unusually heavy call-option activity, with 15,856 calls traded—642% above its typical daily volume.
• Director Brian Liu increased his stake by 24.49% through a roughly $24.8 million purchase, while other insiders sold shares in the past 90 days; institutional investors own 26.56% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $87.78, despite CG Oncology’s latest quarterly loss exceeding expectations and shares trading near $72.30.

CG Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGON - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 15,856 call options on the company. This is an increase of 642% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,136 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian Liu bought 371,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.87 per share, with a total value of $24,814,453.95. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,886,236 shares in the company, valued at $126,132,601.32. This trade represents a 24.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Leonard Post sold 1,000 shares of CG Oncology stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.54, for a total transaction of $74,540.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,540. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,129 shares of company stock worth $2,683,857. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CG Oncology

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in CG Oncology by 8.8% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 68,702 shares of the company's stock worth $4,881,000 after buying an additional 5,539 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CG Oncology in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $718,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in CG Oncology during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,029,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in CG Oncology by 19.0% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,979 shares of the company's stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 2,232 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of CG Oncology in the 2nd quarter valued at $245,000. 26.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CG Oncology in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of CG Oncology in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CG Oncology from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of CG Oncology in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CG Oncology from $81.00 to $79.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.78.

CG Oncology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CGON traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 380,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,408. CG Oncology has a one year low of $32.57 and a one year high of $80.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.87 and a beta of 0.24.

CG Oncology (NASDAQ:CGON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.66) by ($0.24). CG Oncology had a negative return on equity of 25.20% and a negative net margin of 3,602.68%.The business had revenue of $1.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.36 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CG Oncology will post -3.27 EPS for the current year.

About CG Oncology

CG Oncology, Inc NASDAQ: CGON is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for bladder cancer. The company's research is centered on treatments designed to stimulate the immune system and target tumors directly, with an emphasis on non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Its lead investigational product, cretostimogene grenadenorep, also known as CG0070, is an intravesical oncolytic adenovirus intended for administration directly into the bladder. The therapy is designed to selectively replicate in cancer cells, promote tumor-cell destruction and stimulate an immune response through the production of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).

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