Wall Street Zen Downgrades Oric Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ORIC) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Oric Pharmaceuticals from “hold” to “strong sell,” even though the broader analyst community remains more positive overall with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $19.80 price target.
• The company missed its latest quarterly EPS estimate, reporting a loss of $0.34 per share versus expectations of a $0.31 loss, highlighting continued profitability challenges.
• Oric’s stock was trading at $8.85, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while insiders and institutions have been active in the name; CFO Dominic Piscitelli recently sold shares, and institutional ownership stands at 95.05%.

Oric Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ORIC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Oric Pharmaceuticals from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Oric Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wedbush reduced their price target on Oric Pharmaceuticals from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Oric Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Oric Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.80.

Oric Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ORIC opened at $8.85 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $11.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.93. Oric Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $4.53 and a 52-week high of $14.93. The company has a market cap of $916.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.15 and a beta of 1.11.

Oric Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ORIC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.31) by ($0.03). On average, equities analysts predict that Oric Pharmaceuticals will post -1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Dominic Piscitelli sold 52,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.51, for a total transaction of $702,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,148 shares in the company, valued at $920,679.48. This trade represents a 43.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Oric Pharmaceuticals by 521.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,458,483 shares of the company's stock worth $17,502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,709 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Oric Pharmaceuticals by 100.7% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 85,592 shares of the company's stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 42,948 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Oric Pharmaceuticals by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 12,746 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Oric Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $383,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oric Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 95.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Oric Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Oric Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. The firm is dedicated to discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics designed to overcome resistance mechanisms in solid tumor oncology. Its research efforts focus on identifying novel targets and advancing precision medicines that can restore or enhance patient response when standard therapies fail.

The company's pipeline features lead candidates such as ORIC-101, a selective, orally available antagonist of the glucocorticoid receptor currently being evaluated in Phase 1/2 trials for patients with solid tumors who have acquired resistance to chemotherapy and hormonal agents.

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