Heron Therapeutics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:HRTX)

Key Points

• Heron Therapeutics saw a sharp surge in bearish options activity: Traders purchased 41,952 put options, roughly 22,951% above the typical volume of 182 contracts.
• Institutional investors remain heavily involved, owning approximately 80.01% of the stock; several funds, including BlackRock and OrbiMed Advisors, recently initiated or expanded positions.
• HRTX traded near its 12-month low at $0.32, while recent results missed revenue expectations and analysts hold a consensus “Hold” rating with a $2.00 average price target.

Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:HRTX - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 41,952 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 22,951% compared to the typical volume of 182 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Heron Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $4,503,000. Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Heron Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,855,000. Tejara Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Heron Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,779,000. Clearline Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Heron Therapeutics by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 12,235,239 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $15,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,522,712 shares during the period. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE raised its position in shares of Heron Therapeutics by 84.8% in the 1st quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 2,716,328 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,673 shares in the last quarter. 80.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heron Therapeutics Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:HRTX traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $0.32. 277,342 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,493,484. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $0.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.68 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.35, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Heron Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $0.30 and a 12-month high of $1.57.

Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter. Heron Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 293.02% and a negative net margin of 22.52%.The business had revenue of $37.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.19 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Heron Therapeutics will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HRTX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Heron Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC lowered Heron Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Heron Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Heron Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heron Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.00.

About Heron Therapeutics

Heron Therapeutics, Inc is a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing therapies in pain management and supportive care for patients undergoing medical and surgical procedures. The company's research is dedicated to addressing unmet needs in oncology supportive care and post-operative pain management through innovative drug formulations designed to improve patient outcomes and reduce reliance on opioids.

Heron's first approved therapy, SUSTOL (granisetron) extended-release injection, received U.S.

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