Traders Buy Large Volume of Annovis Bio Call Options (NYSE:ANVS)

Key Points

• Traders bought 3,361 call options on ANVS — a 524% increase versus the average daily volume of 539, indicating unusually large bullish options activity.
• Director Michael B. Hoffman acquired 713,800 shares at about $2.10, boosting his holding by 27.72% to 3,288,539 shares, a significant insider purchase signaling confidence.
• ANVS traded around $1.79 with a market cap of about $52.3M, while the average analyst target is $13.50, highlighting a large gap between current price and Wall Street expectations.

Annovis Bio, Inc. (NYSE:ANVS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 3,361 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 524% compared to the average daily volume of 539 call options.

Annovis Bio Stock Performance

Shares of ANVS traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1.79. 354,928 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 648,195. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.32 and a 200-day moving average of $2.81. Annovis Bio has a 52 week low of $1.36 and a 52 week high of $5.50. The stock has a market cap of $52.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.28 and a beta of 1.37.

Annovis Bio (NYSE:ANVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 13th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.08).

Insider Activity at Annovis Bio

In related news, Director Michael B. Hoffman acquired 713,800 shares of Annovis Bio stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,980.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,288,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,905,931.90. This trade represents a 27.72% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 20.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Annovis Bio

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ANVS. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Annovis Bio by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 183,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 30,674 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Annovis Bio by 69.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 6,100 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Annovis Bio during the 2nd quarter valued at about $197,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Annovis Bio during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Annovis Bio by 5.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 738,003 shares of the company's stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 41,239 shares during the last quarter. 15.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Annovis Bio in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Annovis Bio in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.50.

About Annovis Bio

Annovis Bio, Inc NYSE: ANVS is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Tampa, Florida, focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders. Leveraging a proprietary platform that targets protein trafficking and translational dysregulation, Annovis aims to restore cellular homeostasis by modulating the production and clearance of disease-related proteins. The company's pipeline is designed to address critical pathways implicated in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and other central nervous system conditions.

The company's lead asset, ANVS401 (Posiphen®), is an oral small molecule that has been evaluated in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials to reduce levels of amyloid precursor protein and its toxic fragments in Alzheimer's patients.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.