Summit Therapeutics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:SMMT)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 17,527 call options on Summit Therapeutics, approximately 121% above its typical call volume of 7,943 contracts.
• Institutional interest increased: Baker BROS. Advisors raised its stake by 7.9%, while BlackRock and Bank of America established new positions. Institutional investors collectively own 4.61% of the company.
• Analyst outlook remains positive: Summit has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $28.61, despite shares trading down to $15.63 and the company reporting a quarterly EPS loss slightly wider than expected.

Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 17,527 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 121% compared to the typical volume of 7,943 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 36,391,063 shares of the company's stock valued at $636,480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,668,089 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Summit Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $138,838,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Summit Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $12,603,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 34.4% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 592,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,240,000 after acquiring an additional 151,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 14.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 404,679 shares of the company's stock worth $7,673,000 after acquiring an additional 50,923 shares during the period. 4.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Summit Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Summit Therapeutics stock traded down $1.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.63. 4,923,241 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,616,361. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.42. Summit Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $12.07 and a 1 year high of $29.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.95 and a beta of -1.51.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.01). On average, equities analysts predict that Summit Therapeutics will post -1.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Summit Redstone set a $25.00 target price on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Summit Therapeutics to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Summit Therapeutics from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.61.

Summit Therapeutics Company Profile

Summit Therapeutics plc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative cancer treatments. The company's lead program is ivonescimab, an investigational bispecific antibody designed to combine immune checkpoint inhibition targeting PD-1 with anti-angiogenic activity targeting VEGF. Summit is evaluating ivonescimab in clinical studies for multiple solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer.

Summit obtained exclusive rights from Akeso, Inc to develop and commercialize ivonescimab in markets outside China, including the United States and other international territories.

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