Investors Purchase High Volume of Corbus Pharmaceuticals Call Options (NASDAQ:CRBP)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 7,228 Corbus Pharmaceuticals call options, roughly 523% above the stock’s typical daily call volume.
• Mixed operating and insider signals: Shares traded at $8.47 amid unusually heavy volume, while the company reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss. CEO Yuval Cohen and CFO Sean Moran also sold shares, reducing their holdings by 9.75% and 12.41%, respectively.
• Analyst outlook remains divided: Although the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average $41 price target, analysts’ views range from “strong sell” to “buy,” with individual targets between $30 and $35 in the article.

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRBP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 7,228 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 523% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,160 call options.

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CRBP traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $8.47. 6,741,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 411,693. Corbus Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $7.12 and a twelve month high of $20.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $9.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.44. The company has a market cap of $158.12 million, a P/E ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 2.63.

Corbus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRBP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.26) by ($0.55). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Corbus Pharmaceuticals will post -5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Corbus Pharmaceuticals

• Corbus Pharmaceuticals NASDAQ: CRBP Gives a Bold Buy Signal

In other news, CEO Yuval Cohen sold 17,000 shares of Corbus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.08, for a total transaction of $171,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 157,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,585,745.28. The trade was a 9.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sean F. Moran sold 12,000 shares of Corbus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.08, for a total transaction of $120,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $853,715.52. This trade represents a 12.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Corbus Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Corbus Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Corbus Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Corbus Pharmaceuticals by 280.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,758 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 10,874 shares during the period. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Corbus Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $129,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Corbus Pharmaceuticals by 53,592.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,960 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 13,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRBP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Corbus Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho set a $33.00 target price on Corbus Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Corbus Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Corbus Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective on Corbus Pharmaceuticals from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Corbus Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.00.

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of therapeutic candidates for rare, life-threatening inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. The company's lead investigational therapy, lenabasum, is a synthetic, oral cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) agonist designed to resolve chronic inflammation by harnessing the body's innate resolution pathways. Corbus operates by advancing small-molecule compounds through preclinical and clinical studies to address unmet medical needs in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders.

Lenabasum is currently under evaluation in a Phase 3 clinical trial for diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) and in a Phase 2 study for cystic fibrosis–related inflammation.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.