Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Rigel Pharmaceuticals shares opened higher, rising from a previous close of $47.09 to $48.62 before trading at approximately $48.30.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: four analysts rate the stock a Buy and three a Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.00.
• Rigel reported quarterly earnings of $0.88 per share, well above the $0.09 estimate, while revenue of $78.7 million also exceeded expectations. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 66.23% of the company.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $47.09, but opened at $48.62. Rigel Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $48.2950, with a volume of 9,123 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Rigel Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rigel Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.00.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $43.30 and its 200-day moving average is $35.40. The firm has a market cap of $876.40 million, a P/E ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.20.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RIGL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.79. Rigel Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 116.30% and a return on equity of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $78.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.27 million. Analysts predict that Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Rigel Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RIGL. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $162,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $228,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $251,000. 66.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Rigel Pharmaceuticals

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines for immune and hematologic disorders. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Its research programs have historically centered on signaling pathways involved in inflammation, autoimmune disease and cancer.

Rigel's principal commercial product is Tavalisse (fostamatinib disodium), an oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of adults with chronic immune thrombocytopenia who have had an insufficient response to a previous treatment.

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.