Investors Buy High Volume of Roivant Sciences Call Options (NASDAQ:ROIV)

Key Points

• Roivant Sciences experienced a significant uptick in options trading activity, with 22,740 call options purchased, marking a 672% increase over the average volume.
• Analysts have set new price targets for the stock, with HC Wainwright and Citigroup recommending "buy" ratings and price targets of $18.00 and $16.00, respectively, while Goldman Sachs upgraded it to a "strong-buy" rating with a $19.00 target.
• Company insiders, including CEO Eric Venker and major shareholder Vivek Ramaswamy, sold approximately 485,000 shares recently, which corresponds to minor decreases in their ownership stakes.

Roivant Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:ROIV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 22,740 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 672% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,947 call options.

Roivant Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ ROIV traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.34. The company had a trading volume of 686,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,894,680. Roivant Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $8.73 and a fifty-two week high of $14.48. The company has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.51 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's 50 day moving average is $11.80 and its 200 day moving average is $11.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROIV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Roivant Sciences in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Roivant Sciences in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Roivant Sciences to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Vivek Ramaswamy sold 385,816 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.96, for a total value of $5,000,175.36. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,508,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,188,332.64. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric Venker sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.72, for a total value of $1,172,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,653,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,380,016.20. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,218,022 shares of company stock worth $39,010,006. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Roivant Sciences

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Roivant Sciences by 16.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,000,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,362,000 after acquiring an additional 560,641 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Roivant Sciences by 83.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Roivant Sciences by 112.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,143 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Roivant Sciences by 1.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,847,625 shares of the company's stock worth $28,733,000 after purchasing an additional 35,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Roivant Sciences by 36.4% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,932 shares of the company's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719 shares during the last quarter. 64.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Roivant Sciences Company Profile

Roivant Sciences Ltd., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and commercialization of medicines for inflammation and immunology areas. The company provides Vants, a model to develop and commercialize its medicines and technologies focusing on biopharmaceutical businesses, discovery-stage companies, and health technology startups.