PDS Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PDSB) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Call-option activity nearly doubled: Traders bought 4,191 PDS Biotechnology call options, about 99% above the average volume of 2,103 contracts.
• Shares rose 9.1% to $1.50 on heavy volume, approaching the company’s 52-week high of $1.55. The stock remains highly speculative, with a $84.24 million market cap and a negative P/E ratio.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with two Buy ratings and one Sell rating producing a consensus Hold rating and a $9.00 price target. PDS Biotechnology is a clinical-stage biotech developing cancer and infectious-disease immunotherapies, including its lead candidate PDS0101.

PDS Biotechnology Corporation (NASDAQ:PDSB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 4,191 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 99% compared to the average volume of 2,103 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PDSB has been the subject of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of PDS Biotechnology in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PDS Biotechnology from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PDS Biotechnology from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.00.

PDS Biotechnology Trading Up 9.1%

NASDAQ PDSB traded up $0.12 on Monday, hitting $1.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,026,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,294,324. PDS Biotechnology has a 52-week low of $0.20 and a 52-week high of $1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $0.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $0.81. The firm has a market cap of $84.24 million, a P/E ratio of -2.37 and a beta of 1.17.

PDS Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PDSB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.05). Research analysts predict that PDS Biotechnology will post -0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PDS Biotechnology during the 2nd quarter valued at about $535,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in PDS Biotechnology in the second quarter worth about $60,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in PDS Biotechnology by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 220,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 44,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in PDS Biotechnology during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 26.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PDS Biotechnology Company Profile

PDS Biotechnology Corporation NASDAQ: PDSB is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing targeted immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases. The company's technology is designed to stimulate the immune system and generate antigen-specific T-cell responses against diseased cells.

PDS Biotech's lead investigational product is PDS0101, an immunotherapy designed to target human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) antigens E6 and E7. The product is being evaluated in combination with other treatments for HPV16-associated cancers, including cervical, anal, and certain head and neck cancers.

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