Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Zevra Therapeutics gapped up — the stock opened at $10.95 after a $9.12 close and was last around $10.98, a 22.1% intraday increase on about 4.1 million shares traded.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but positive overall: six Buys, one Hold and one Sell give a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $23 (individual targets include $26 from HC Wainwright and $23 from Guggenheim).
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — 114,158 shares (~$1.06M) sold over the past three months — while institutional investors/hedge funds own about 35.03% of the company.

Shares of Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $9.12, but opened at $10.95. Zevra Therapeutics shares last traded at $10.9820, with a volume of 4,095,664 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, January 9th. HC Wainwright set a $26.00 target price on Zevra Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, Guggenheim set a $23.00 price target on shares of Zevra Therapeutics and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Zevra Therapeutics Trading Up 22.1%

The firm's fifty day moving average is $8.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.06. The firm has a market cap of $626.90 million, a P/E ratio of 23.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 8.57, a current ratio of 8.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zevra Therapeutics

In other Zevra Therapeutics news, insider Joshua Schafer sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.19, for a total value of $96,495.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 62,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $572,334.82. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy J. Sangiovanni sold 3,000 shares of Zevra Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.18, for a total transaction of $27,540.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $271,636.20. The trade was a 9.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 114,158 shares of company stock worth $1,062,878. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ZVRA. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zevra Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,676,000. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Zevra Therapeutics by 60.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,958,318 shares of the company's stock worth $17,253,000 after buying an additional 740,584 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Zevra Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $6,574,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Zevra Therapeutics by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 4,168,000 shares of the company's stock worth $36,720,000 after buying an additional 550,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zevra Therapeutics by 34.0% during the third quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 1,971,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,753,000 after acquiring an additional 500,000 shares during the period. 35.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Zevra Therapeutics

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. The company is also developing Celiprolol, a prodrug product candidate that is under Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of vascular Ehlers Danlos syndrome.

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