Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG)

PepGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 8,402 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,022% compared to the average volume of 396 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of PepGen from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of PepGen from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $2.50 to $6.00 in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PepGen in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PepGen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on PepGen from $4.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.50.

More PepGen News

These are some of the PEPG news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target to $10 and maintained an “outperform” rating, signaling optimism about the treatment’s prospects.
• Negative Sentiment: The promising efficacy results came from only six treated patients, so they need confirmation in larger studies. The U.S. clinical hold also remains in place, limiting near-term progress with American patients. PepGen: Stock Soars on DM1 Data, But Caution Warranted
• Negative Sentiment: The proposed stock offering could dilute existing shareholders. PepGen also reported a quarterly loss of $0.28 per share, slightly wider than analysts’ $0.27 estimate. PepGen launches a public stock offering

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PepGen during the third quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in PepGen by 260.9% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 529,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 382,487 shares during the period. Artia Global Partners LP bought a new stake in PepGen during the 2nd quarter valued at $370,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in PepGen during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,080,000. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PepGen during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,664,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.01% of the company’s stock.

PepGen Trading Up 14.1%

PEPG opened at $5.26 on Thursday. PepGen has a 12-month low of $1.31 and a 12-month high of $7.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $364.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 2.02.

PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.01). On average, equities research analysts predict that PepGen will post -1.11 EPS for the current year.

About PepGen

PepGen Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines for serious neuromuscular diseases. The company’s technology is designed to improve the delivery of oligonucleotide therapeutics into skeletal and cardiac muscle, with the goal of addressing diseases caused by genetic mutations or abnormal RNA processing. PepGen’s platform, known as Enhanced Delivery Oligonucleotides (EDO), combines therapeutic oligonucleotides with proprietary peptides intended to facilitate their distribution into muscle tissue.