Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.29, but opened at $13.12. Summit Therapeutics shares last traded at $13.7650, with a volume of 667,324 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SMMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $7.70 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Summit Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research raised Summit Therapeutics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup started coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised Summit Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.05.

Summit Therapeutics Trading Down 10.6%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.42. The firm has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.00 and a beta of -1.32.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.03. As a group, equities analysts expect that Summit Therapeutics PLC will post -1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Manmeet Singh Soni acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $14.45 per share, with a total value of $722,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,123,603 shares in the company, valued at $45,136,063.35. The trade was a 1.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mahkam Zanganeh acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.60 per share, with a total value of $1,460,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 25,824,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,037,320.40. The trade was a 0.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 250,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,642,500 in the last 90 days. 83.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Summit Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SMMT. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 65,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 3,134 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 65,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 26,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 6,662 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.61% of the company’s stock.

Summit Therapeutics Company Profile

Summit Therapeutics plc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of precision medicines for serious and life‐threatening diseases. The company applies a targeted approach to drug design, focusing on novel mechanisms of action that differentiate its candidates from existing therapies.

Summit’s lead asset, ridinilazole (formerly SMT19969), is being developed to treat Clostridioides difficile infections and has received both Fast Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product designations from the U.S.