Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Sell"

Key Points

• Summit Therapeutics was downgraded to “sell” by Wall Street Zen, reversing its prior “hold” rating and adding to a mixed analyst outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold”, with a consensus price target of $26.97; the stock opened at $13.81 and is trading well below its 52-week high of $30.98.
• Insiders have been buying shares aggressively, including CFO Manmeet Singh Soni and CEO Robert W. Duggan, with total insider purchases of 7.87 million shares worth about $103.6 million over the past three months.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. HC Wainwright restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $7.70 price target for the company. Truist Financial upgraded Summit Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Summit Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.97.

Summit Therapeutics Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SMMT stock opened at $13.81 on Friday. Summit Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $12.55 and a 12 month high of $30.98. The stock has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.63 and a beta of -1.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.79.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.03. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Summit Therapeutics will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Summit Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Manmeet Singh Soni acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.45 per share, for a total transaction of $722,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,123,603 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,136,063.35. This trade represents a 1.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Duggan bought 3,810,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.12 per share, for a total transaction of $49,987,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 573,883,879 shares in the company, valued at $7,529,356,492.48. This represents a 0.67% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought a total of 7,870,000 shares of company stock valued at $103,616,900 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 83.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Summit Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMMT. Tema ETFs LLC raised its stake in Summit Therapeutics by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 121,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Summit Therapeutics by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 55,500 shares of the company's stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 10,900 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Summit Therapeutics by 4,178.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,139 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Summit Therapeutics by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 598,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,351,000 after buying an additional 121,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Summit Therapeutics by 132.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 4,226 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.61% of the company's stock.

Summit Therapeutics Company Profile

Summit Therapeutics plc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of precision medicines for serious and life‐threatening diseases. The company applies a targeted approach to drug design, focusing on novel mechanisms of action that differentiate its candidates from existing therapies.

Summit's lead asset, ridinilazole (formerly SMT19969), is being developed to treat Clostridioides difficile infections and has received both Fast Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product designations from the U.S.

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