Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Zevra shares fell sharply, opening at $10.64 after closing at $11.16 and trading down 14.2% to about $9.49.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has an average “Buy” rating and a $27.14 consensus price target, despite one analyst lowering its target.
• Zevra beat quarterly estimates, reporting $0.26 EPS versus $0.16 expected and revenue of $37.76 million versus $37.08 million forecast.

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $11.16, but opened at $10.64. Zevra Therapeutics shares last traded at $9.4880, with a volume of 505,232 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Zevra Therapeutics from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Zevra Therapeutics from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. William Blair raised Zevra Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zevra Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.14.

Zevra Therapeutics Trading Down 14.2%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $11.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.83. The company has a market cap of $570.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.01.

Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.10. Zevra Therapeutics had a net margin of 52.80% and a return on equity of 54.64%. The business had revenue of $37.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.08 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Neil McFarlane sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.25, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 417,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,693,781.25. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zevra Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ZVRA. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Zevra Therapeutics by 3.0% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 909,137 shares of the company's stock worth $9,973,000 after buying an additional 26,479 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Zevra Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Zevra Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $528,000. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Zevra Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,292,000. 35.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. is a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for rare diseases. Its work includes research and development as well as bringing therapies to patients with limited treatment options. The company's products include MIPLYFFA (arimoclomol), approved in the United States for neurological manifestations of Niemann-Pick disease type C, and OLPRUVA (sodium phenylbutyrate), a treatment for certain urea cycle disorders. Zevra also advances investigational therapies for rare and complex conditions.

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