Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Zevra Therapeutics has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting concerns about stock performance.
• Despite the downgrade, six analysts still rate the stock as a "buy", with an average target price of $24.00.
• Shares of Zevra Therapeutics dropped 5.0% and have seen significant fluctuation, with a twelve-month low of $6.19 and a high of $13.16.

Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ZVRA. HC Wainwright started coverage on Zevra Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Zevra Therapeutics from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research lowered Zevra Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JMP Securities cut their price objective on Zevra Therapeutics from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zevra Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.00.

Zevra Therapeutics Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of ZVRA opened at $10.81 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $9.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.21. Zevra Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $6.19 and a twelve month high of $13.16. The stock has a market cap of $606.77 million, a PE ratio of -51.48 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 7.81, a current ratio of 7.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($1.49). Zevra Therapeutics had a net margin of 4.33% and a negative return on equity of 112.40%. The company had revenue of $25.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.49 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zevra Therapeutics will post -1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Zevra Therapeutics

In other Zevra Therapeutics news, CEO Neil F. Mcfarlane sold 19,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.82, for a total value of $210,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 222,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,402,213.12. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John B. Bode bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.16 per share, with a total value of $45,800.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $412,200. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zevra Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Zevra Therapeutics by 11.5% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 4,615,625 shares of the company's stock worth $34,571,000 after buying an additional 476,032 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 20,564.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 8,020 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 9.6% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 74,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 6,532 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP lifted its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 924.6% in the first quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 683,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,116,000 after purchasing an additional 616,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. lifted its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 6.9% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 550,180 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,121,000 after purchasing an additional 35,348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.03% of the company's stock.

Zevra Therapeutics Company Profile

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc discovers and develops various proprietary prodrugs to treat serious medical conditions in the United States. The company develops its products through Ligand Activated Therapy platform. Its lead product candidate is KP1077, consisting of KP1077IH, which is under Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia, and KP1077N, which is under Phase ½ clinical trial to treat narcolepsy.

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