OraSure Technologies Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:OSUR)

Key Points

• Traders bought 7,008 call options on NASDAQ:OSUR on Monday, a 2,394% increase versus the typical 281 calls, signaling unusually high options activity and short‑term interest.
• Insiders — including CEO Manner Carrie Eglinton and CFO Kenneth J. McGrath — each purchased 32,300 shares at an average price of $2.93 on March 20, part of 108,643 insider shares bought in the last 90 days.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Reduce" (Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)") with a $3.00 target; the stock traded at $3.02 (up 1.9%) and the company reported negative EPS and margins.

OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSUR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 7,008 call options on the company. This is an increase of 2,394% compared to the typical volume of 281 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of OraSure Technologies in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $3.00.

OraSure Technologies Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ:OSUR traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3.02. 26,070 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,079. The firm has a market cap of $208.43 million, a P/E ratio of -3.24 and a beta of 0.85. OraSure Technologies has a 52 week low of $2.08 and a 52 week high of $3.82. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $2.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.76.

OraSure Technologies (NASDAQ:OSUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.02). OraSure Technologies had a negative net margin of 59.76% and a negative return on equity of 16.45%. The business had revenue of $26.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.44 million. On average, analysts expect that OraSure Technologies will post -0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Manner Carrie Eglinton purchased 32,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.93 per share, with a total value of $94,639.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,190,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,419,260.82. The trade was a 1.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kenneth J. Mcgrath purchased 32,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $2.93 per share, with a total value of $94,639.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 589,562 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,727,416.66. This trade represents a 5.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 108,643 shares of company stock valued at $321,407 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OraSure Technologies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altai Capital Management L.P. raised its position in OraSure Technologies by 73.4% during the third quarter. Altai Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,748,836 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,586,488 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in OraSure Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $808,000. Cannell Capital LLC raised its position in OraSure Technologies by 12.6% during the third quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 2,099,815 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,740,000 after purchasing an additional 234,826 shares in the last quarter. Nierenberg Investment Management Company Inc. raised its position in OraSure Technologies by 285.6% during the third quarter. Nierenberg Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 44,555 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 33,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in OraSure Technologies by 182.3% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 305,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 197,078 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.50% of the company's stock.

OraSure Technologies Company Profile

OraSure Technologies, Inc is a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania–based diagnostic and medical device company specializing in the development, manufacture and commercialization of point-of-care and self-testing products. Founded in 1988, OraSure has built a portfolio of oral fluid and other non-invasive specimen collection technologies that support the detection of infectious diseases, drugs of abuse, and health and wellness biomarkers.

The company's flagship product, the OraQuick® rapid HIV test, was the first Food and Drug Administration–approved over-the-counter oral fluid test for the detection of HIV-1/2 antibodies.

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