Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Summit Therapeutics' shares gapped up to $19.82 in pre-market trading after insider buying by CEO Robert W. Duggan, who purchased over 338,000 shares in recent transactions amounting to approximately $6 million.
• Analysts have rated Summit Therapeutics with an average target price of $33.79, with ratings including a "buy" from HC Wainwright maintaining a $50.00 target.
• In its latest earnings report, Summit Therapeutics missed estimates, reporting ($0.76) earnings per share compared to a consensus of ($0.10).

Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $18.60, but opened at $19.82. Summit Therapeutics shares last traded at $19.60, with a volume of 1,083,313 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Robert W. Duggan bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.07 per share, for a total transaction of $90,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 556,093,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,048,602,136.30. This trade represents a 0.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert W. Duggan bought 333,394 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.68 per share, for a total transaction of $5,894,405.92. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 556,088,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,831,637,431.20. This represents a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In related news, CEO Mahkam Zanganeh bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.07 per share, for a total transaction of $90,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 556,093,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,048,602,136.30. This trade represents a 0.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SMMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a report on Monday. UBS Group started coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Summit Therapeutics from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Summit Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.79.

Summit Therapeutics Stock Up 4.1%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.38 billion, a PE ratio of -19.34 and a beta of -1.02.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.66). Equities analysts forecast that Summit Therapeutics PLC will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Summit Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SMMT. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 871,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,550,000 after purchasing an additional 14,075 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Summit Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $406,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 431,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,701,000 after purchasing an additional 40,908 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Summit Therapeutics by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 478,808 shares of the company's stock worth $8,547,000 after buying an additional 81,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Summit Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $803,000. 4.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Summit Therapeutics Company Profile

Summit Therapeutics Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovery, development, and commercialization of patient, physician, caregiver, and societal friendly medicinal therapies in the United States, and the United Kingdom. The company's lead development candidate is Ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody for immunotherapy through blockade of PD-1 with the anti-angiogenesis; and anti-infectives portfolio includes SMT-738, a novel class of precision antibiotics for the treatment of multidrug resistant infections, which primarily includes carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections.

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