Traders Buy Large Volume of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Call Options (NASDAQ:MLTX)

Key Points

• MoonLake Immunotherapeutics call-option activity surged: Investors purchased 2,707 call options, 142% above the average volume of 1,118.
• Analyst sentiment was mixed, with ten Buy, four Hold, and three Sell ratings; the consensus rating was Hold with a $24.21 price target.
• MLTX shares fell 5.1% to $17.33, while insiders sold 344,800 shares worth $6.82 million over the past 90 days. Institutional investors own 93.85% of the company.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ:MLTX - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 2,707 call options on the company. This is an increase of 142% compared to the average volume of 1,118 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics in a report on Monday, July 20th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $24.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Da Silva Jorge Santos sold 68,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.02, for a total transaction of $1,367,145.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,774,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,553,357.86. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kristian Reich sold 50,000 shares of MoonLake Immunotherapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.02, for a total value of $1,001,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,714,746 shares in the company, valued at $54,349,214.92. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 344,800 shares of company stock worth $6,820,071 over the last ninety days. 10.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MoonLake Immunotherapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MLTX. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics in the second quarter worth approximately $58,000. Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $932,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 5,255.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 724,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,510,000 after acquiring an additional 711,261 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 64.7% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,451,628 shares of the company's stock worth $64,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,355,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in MoonLake Immunotherapeutics by 221.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,867 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares in the last quarter. 93.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Stock Down 5.1%

Shares of MLTX stock traded down $0.93 during trading on Monday, hitting $17.33. 2,124,868 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,460,040. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $19.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.88. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics has a twelve month low of $5.95 and a twelve month high of $62.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 8.60 and a current ratio of 8.60.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (NASDAQ:MLTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.84) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.92) by $0.08. As a group, analysts forecast that MoonLake Immunotherapeutics will post -3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics Company Profile

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapies. It develops Sonelokimab, a novel investigational Nanobody for the treatment of inflammation diseases; and hidradenitis suppurativa, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, and psoriasis. MoonLake Immunotherapeutics was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland.

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