Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Replimune Group (NASDAQ:REPL)

Key Points

• Replimune’s call-option activity nearly doubled: Traders purchased 25,580 call options, compared with an average volume of 12,938, signaling unusually high interest in the stock.
• The FDA granted accelerated approval for Tudriqev in combination with nivolumab for previously treated advanced melanoma, giving Replimune its first marketed product and potential revenue stream. Continued approval will depend on confirmatory clinical evidence.
• Analyst sentiment improved overall, with JPMorgan, Wedbush and Piper Sandler issuing upgrades; MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $12.43. REPL closed at $12.21 after trading down $0.65, while the company continues to report losses.

Replimune Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:REPL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 25,580 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 98% compared to the average volume of 12,938 call options.

Trending Headlines about Replimune Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Replimune Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted accelerated approval to Tudriqev (vusolimogene oderparepvec-wtpg) in combination with nivolumab for adults with unresectable, advanced cutaneous melanoma that has progressed after an anti-PD-1-based treatment. The approval gives Replimune its first marketed product and opens a potential revenue stream after years of regulatory setbacks. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The approval follows two prior FDA rejections tied to clinical data-quality concerns, making the authorization a significant validation of the company’s revised submission and RP1 development program. As an accelerated approval, continued marketing will depend on confirmatory clinical evidence. Wall Street Journal FDA approval article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on REPL. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $2.00 price target (down from $13.00) on shares of Replimune Group in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Replimune Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Replimune Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Replimune Group from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Replimune Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher Sarchi sold 12,000 shares of Replimune Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.24, for a total value of $110,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 180,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,672,088.88. The trade was a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Replimune Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RTW Investments LP raised its position in shares of Replimune Group by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 7,140,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,404,000 after buying an additional 744,620 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Replimune Group by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,693,107 shares of the company's stock worth $35,897,000 after purchasing an additional 768,982 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Replimune Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,479,395 shares of the company's stock worth $14,579,000 after buying an additional 9,707 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Replimune Group by 507.4% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,628,100 shares of the company's stock worth $11,012,000 after buying an additional 2,195,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Replimune Group by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,229,527 shares of the company's stock worth $21,671,000 after buying an additional 857,475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.53% of the company's stock.

Replimune Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ REPL traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.21. The company had a trading volume of 4,915,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,972,620. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 4.79 and a current ratio of 4.79. Replimune Group has a 12 month low of $1.50 and a 12 month high of $13.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 0.88.

Replimune Group (NASDAQ:REPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 29th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.66) by ($0.10). As a group, analysts anticipate that Replimune Group will post -2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Replimune Group Company Profile

Replimune Group, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company focused on developing next‐generation oncolytic immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors. The company's proprietary “RP” platform leverages genetically engineered herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) vectors armed with immunomodulatory payloads to selectively infect, replicate within and destroy cancer cells, while also stimulating systemic antitumor immune responses.

Replimune's lead candidate, RP1, incorporates GM-CSF and a fusogenic protein to enhance both direct oncolysis and immune activation.

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.

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