Roivant Sciences (NASDAQ:ROIV) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Roivant Sciences shares jumped 6.4%, opening at $38.15 versus a prior close of $34.92, with the latest trading price around $37.23.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $45.64 average price target, with Jefferies raising its target to $52 and Guggenheim to $46.
• Roivant beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a loss of $0.26 per share versus the expected $0.30 loss, although revenue of $1.44 million fell short of estimates and insiders sold roughly $58.8 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of Roivant Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:ROIV - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $34.92, but opened at $38.15. Roivant Sciences shares last traded at $37.2320, with a volume of 3,777,833 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Roivant Sciences from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Roivant Sciences from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Roivant Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Roivant Sciences in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Roivant Sciences in a research report on Monday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.64.

Roivant Sciences Trading Up 6.4%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.58 and a 200-day moving average of $33.20. The company has a market cap of $26.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Roivant Sciences (NASDAQ:ROIV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 million. Roivant Sciences had a negative net margin of 3,534.96% and a negative return on equity of 22.94%. Equities analysts predict that Roivant Sciences Ltd. will post -2.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Roivant Sciences

In other Roivant Sciences news, CEO Eric Venker sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.62, for a total transaction of $7,324,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,154 shares in the company, valued at $58,561,019.48. This represents a 11.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Mayukh Sukhatme sold 144,756 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.48, for a total value of $5,280,698.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 18,630,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $679,649,358.72. This represents a 0.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,622,688 shares of company stock valued at $58,826,636 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Roivant Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Roivant Sciences by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Roivant Sciences by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Roivant Sciences by 187.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,914 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Roivant Sciences in the third quarter worth approximately $134,000. 64.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Roivant Sciences

Roivant Sciences Ltd. NASDAQ: ROIV is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing medicines. The company organizes its activities through subsidiaries and partner companies, often referred to as “Vants,” which specialize in particular therapeutic areas and stages of drug development.

Roivant's research and development activities have included immunology, dermatology, women's health, rare diseases and other specialty-care fields. Its portfolio has included Vtama (tapinarof) cream, a nonsteroidal topical treatment approved in the United States for plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

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