Investors Buy Large Volume of Editas Medicine Call Options (NASDAQ:EDIT)

Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 2,160 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 245% compared to the average daily volume of 626 call options.

Editas Medicine Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EDIT traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.77. 5,467,623 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,692,140. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.42. The stock has a market cap of $369.11 million, a P/E ratio of -3.09 and a beta of 2.14. Editas Medicine has a 1-year low of $1.60 and a 1-year high of $4.54.

Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.04. Editas Medicine had a negative net margin of 281.59% and a negative return on equity of 677.39%. The company had revenue of $2.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Editas Medicine will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Editas Medicine by 30.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,972,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,811,000 after buying an additional 932,382 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Editas Medicine by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,600,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,016,000 after buying an additional 1,430,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Editas Medicine by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,284,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,685,000 after buying an additional 244,574 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Editas Medicine by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,974,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,049,000 after acquiring an additional 49,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Editas Medicine by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,584,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,497,000 after acquiring an additional 614,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.90% of the company’s stock.

More Editas Medicine News

Here are the key news stories impacting Editas Medicine this week:

• Positive Sentiment: EDIT-401 showed strong preclinical activity, with a single dose producing about 90% or greater reductions in LDL-C, Lp(a), and ApoB in non-human primates. The company said the data support its LDLR-upregulation approach and that it remains on track to begin a first-in-human study later this year, with early human proof-of-concept data expected by the end of 2026. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Editas also received positive pre-IND feedback from the FDA on its nonclinical package, CMC plans, and study design for EDIT-401, which helps de-risk the program’s next regulatory steps. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: HC Wainwright reiterated its FY2027 outlook for Editas, estimating a loss of $1.15 per share, versus consensus full-year estimates of a loss of $1.07 per share. That is unlikely to materially change the stock on its own, but it reinforces that the company is still expected to remain deeply unprofitable. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest drag is a proposed public offering of up to $319.4 million, including 55.6 million shares and warrants. Equity dilution from the financing likely weighed on shares even though the capital could extend Editas’s runway. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on EDIT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Editas Medicine in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Chardan Capital boosted their price objective on Editas Medicine from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $6.00 target price on Editas Medicine in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Editas Medicine from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, JonesTrading raised Editas Medicine from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Five investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.40.

About Editas Medicine

Editas Medicine is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on translating the power of gene editing into a new class of transformative genomic medicines. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company leverages proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas12a (Cpf1) platforms to develop therapies aimed at correcting disease-causing genetic mutations. Editas Medicine’s research and development efforts span multiple therapeutic areas, including inherited retinal diseases, hemoglobinopathies, and oncology.

The company’s pipeline includes EDIT-101, a lead candidate designed to treat Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA10), which has entered early-stage clinical trials, and EDIT-301, targeting sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia using an ex vivo editing approach.