Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on CG Oncology (NASDAQ:CGON)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 8,896 call options on CG Oncology, about 262% above the normal volume of 2,457, signaling heightened bullish speculation.
• Mixed but mostly positive analyst view: Analysts are split, with recent downgrades from Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen, but JPMorgan, HC Wainwright, and RBC all maintained bullish ratings and raised price targets. The stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $81.73.
• Stock and insider activity: CGON shares rose to $71.93 on Friday, near their 52-week high of $77.00. Insider trading was mixed, with Director James Mulay selling shares while Director Brian Guan-Chyun Liu made a large purchase, and institutional investors continue to hold a sizable stake.

CG Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGON - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 8,896 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 262% compared to the typical volume of 2,457 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CGON. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CG Oncology in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered CG Oncology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CG Oncology from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of CG Oncology in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on CG Oncology from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.73.

CG Oncology Price Performance

Shares of CG Oncology stock traded up $2.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.93. 436,258 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,193,355. The company has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.80 and a beta of 0.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.21. CG Oncology has a 52-week low of $23.65 and a 52-week high of $77.00.

CG Oncology (NASDAQ:CGON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.71) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.58) by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.45 million. On average, research analysts predict that CG Oncology will post -2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CG Oncology

In other CG Oncology news, Director James Mulay sold 24,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $1,816,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,241.40. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Guan-Chyun Liu purchased 371,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.87 per share, for a total transaction of $24,814,453.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,886,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,132,601.32. This trade represents a 24.49% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,129 shares of company stock worth $2,663,817. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in CG Oncology by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,999,790 shares of the company's stock worth $249,111,000 after acquiring an additional 487,011 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in CG Oncology by 116.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,443,144 shares of the company's stock worth $142,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,854,386 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in CG Oncology by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,996,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,423,000 after purchasing an additional 950,028 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in CG Oncology by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,164,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,270,000 after purchasing an additional 281,637 shares during the period. Finally, RTW Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of CG Oncology by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,012,127 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,544,000 after purchasing an additional 310,911 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.56% of the company's stock.

About CG Oncology

CG Oncology, Inc NASDAQ: CGON is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibody-based immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumor cancers. The company leverages a platform-driven approach to identify and optimize antibody candidates that engage key immune checkpoints and co-stimulatory pathways within the tumor microenvironment. Its pipeline encompasses multiple preclinical programs alongside early-phase clinical trials designed to assess safety, dosing and preliminary anti-tumor activity.

Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, CG Oncology conducts clinical research primarily in the United States, collaborating with leading academic medical centers and contract research organizations to advance its lead candidates.

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