Investors Buy High Volume of CytomX Therapeutics Put Options (NASDAQ:CTMX)

Key Points

• Put-option activity surged: Investors purchased 5,310 CTMX put options, approximately 644% above the average daily volume of 714 contracts, signaling unusually high bearish or hedging interest.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans positive: CytomX has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $11.90, though some firms downgraded the stock or maintain sell ratings.
• Shares fell 3.8% to $2.42: The company recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting a $0.09 per-share loss versus the $0.08 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.42 million versus $12.39 million expected.

CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTMX - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 5,310 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 644% compared to the average daily volume of 714 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CytomX Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new position in CytomX Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. purchased a new position in shares of CytomX Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. Nierenberg Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of CytomX Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,081. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of CytomX Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $47,000. Finally, TRB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CytomX Therapeutics in the second quarter worth $50,000. 67.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of CytomX Therapeutics in a report on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research lowered shares of CytomX Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CytomX Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CytomX Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of CytomX Therapeutics from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.90.

CytomX Therapeutics Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ CTMX traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,184,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,664,999. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.45. CytomX Therapeutics has a one year low of $2.20 and a one year high of $8.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.85 and a beta of 2.21.

CytomX Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CTMX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.01). CytomX Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 38.46% and a negative net margin of 435.21%. The business had revenue of $1.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.39 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that CytomX Therapeutics will post -0.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CytomX Therapeutics Company Profile

CytomX Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing antibody-based medicines for cancer and other serious diseases. The company's technology is designed to keep therapeutic antibodies inactive in healthy tissue and activate them in disease sites, particularly within the tumor microenvironment, with the goal of improving treatment precision and reducing systemic toxicity.

CytomX's Probody Therapeutics platform uses conditionally activated antibodies and related molecules.

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