Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on MediciNova (NASDAQ:MNOV)

Key Points

• Put-option activity surged: Investors bought 3,923 MNOV put options, about 2,235% above the average daily volume of 168 contracts.
• Shares fell sharply: MediciNova stock dropped 33.6% to $1.71 during Monday trading, with volume far exceeding its average.
• Analyst outlook remains mixed but broadly bullish: Roth Capital initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $6 price target, while the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $7.75 target.

MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNOV - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 3,923 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,235% compared to the average daily volume of 168 put options.

MediciNova Trading Down 33.6%

Shares of MNOV traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,014,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,683. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.49. MediciNova has a 1-year low of $1.17 and a 1-year high of $3.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.36 million, a P/E ratio of -8.19 and a beta of 0.63.

MediciNova (NASDAQ:MNOV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $0.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.07 million. MediciNova had a negative return on equity of 26.51% and a negative net margin of 1,168.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MediciNova will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of MediciNova

An institutional investor recently bought a new stake in MediciNova stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of MediciNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNOV - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 78,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $103,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.16% of MediciNova at the end of the most recent quarter. Institutional investors own 9.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MediciNova from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of MediciNova in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.75.

About MediciNova

MediciNova, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing small-molecule therapies for neurological, inflammatory, and fibrotic diseases. The company does not currently market an approved product in the United States and instead advances candidates through clinical development and regulatory evaluation.

Its lead compound, MN-166 (ibudilast), is being investigated for conditions including progressive multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and substance-use disorders.

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