Traders Buy High Volume of CytomX Therapeutics Put Options (NASDAQ:CTMX)

Key Points

• Traders bought an unusually high volume of put options on CytomX (NASDAQ:CTMX) — about 13,090 puts, a roughly 262% increase versus the average — signaling elevated bearish bets or hedging activity.
• Corporate insiders, including CEO Sean A. McCarthy, sold large positions (CEO sold ~118,969 shares; insiders sold ~191,063 shares totaling ~$1.23M last quarter), reducing insider ownership to about 6.6%.
• Despite a sharp earnings and revenue miss, CTMX shares rose ~8.9% to $4.97, while several brokers raised price targets (up to $16) and the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $13.44, reflecting mixed market and analyst sentiment.

CytomX Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTMX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 13,090 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 262% compared to the average volume of 3,621 put options.

Insider Activity at CytomX Therapeutics

In related news, insider Yu-Waye Chu sold 21,279 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total value of $136,611.18. Following the transaction, the insider owned 189,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,216,243.32. This represents a 10.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sean A. Mccarthy sold 118,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total transaction of $763,780.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,078,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,926,679.24. This trade represents a 9.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 191,063 shares of company stock worth $1,226,624 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CytomX Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of CytomX Therapeutics by 83.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,605 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CytomX Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in CytomX Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors acquired a new position in CytomX Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in CytomX Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 67.77% of the company's stock.

CytomX Therapeutics Trading Up 8.9%

NASDAQ CTMX traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $4.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,003,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,299,754. The firm has a market capitalization of $844.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -124.38 and a beta of 2.49. CytomX Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $0.61 and a 12 month high of $8.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.42.

CytomX Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CTMX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.14). CytomX Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 22.79% and a negative return on equity of 19.77%. The business had revenue of $0.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.33 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that CytomX Therapeutics will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CTMX. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CytomX Therapeutics from $10.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of CytomX Therapeutics from $8.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CytomX Therapeutics from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of CytomX Therapeutics from $10.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of CytomX Therapeutics from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.44.

About CytomX Therapeutics

CytomX Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of next-generation therapeutics based on its proprietary Probody® platform. The company engineers masked antibody prodrugs that remain inactive in healthy tissue but are selectively activated in the tumor microenvironment. This approach is designed to enhance the safety and tolerability of antibody-based therapies, particularly those targeting immuno-oncology pathways.

At the core of CytomX's pipeline is Pacmilimab (CX-072), an anti–PD-L1 Probody therapeutic currently undergoing clinical evaluation for multiple solid tumor indications.

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