Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Replimune Group Call Options (NASDAQ:REPL)

Replimune Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:REPL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 25,580 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 98% compared to the average daily volume of 12,938 call options.

Replimune Group Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of NASDAQ REPL traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.21. 4,915,599 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,972,620. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.51. Replimune Group has a 12 month low of $1.50 and a 12 month high of $13.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 4.79, a quick ratio of 4.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Replimune Group (NASDAQ:REPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 29th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.66) by ($0.10). On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Replimune Group will post -2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Replimune Group

In related news, insider Christopher Sarchi sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.24, for a total value of $110,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 180,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,672,088.88. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of REPL. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Replimune Group by 507.4% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,628,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,012,000 after buying an additional 2,195,448 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Replimune Group in the 4th quarter valued at $17,568,000. Commodore Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Replimune Group in the 4th quarter worth $13,851,000. EcoR1 Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Replimune Group in the 1st quarter worth $7,650,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Replimune Group by 2,333.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 925,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,993,000 after purchasing an additional 887,157 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on REPL shares. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Replimune Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Replimune Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Replimune Group from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Replimune Group to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Replimune Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $17.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Replimune Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.43.

Key Stories Impacting Replimune Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Replimune Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted accelerated approval to Tudriqev (vusolimogene oderparepvec-wtpg) in combination with nivolumab for adults with unresectable, advanced cutaneous melanoma that has progressed after an anti-PD-1-based treatment. The approval gives Replimune its first marketed product and opens a potential revenue stream after years of regulatory setbacks. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The approval follows two prior FDA rejections tied to clinical data-quality concerns, making the authorization a significant validation of the company’s revised submission and RP1 development program. As an accelerated approval, continued marketing will depend on confirmatory clinical evidence. Wall Street Journal FDA approval article

About Replimune Group

Replimune Group, Inc is a clinical‐stage biotechnology company focused on developing next‐generation oncolytic immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumors. The company’s proprietary “RP” platform leverages genetically engineered herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) vectors armed with immunomodulatory payloads to selectively infect, replicate within and destroy cancer cells, while also stimulating systemic antitumor immune responses.

Replimune’s lead candidate, RP1, incorporates GM-CSF and a fusogenic protein to enhance both direct oncolysis and immune activation.