Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 4,059,113 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the previous session’s volume of 4,117,148 shares.The stock last traded at $14.6290 and had previously closed at $13.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SMMT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Summit Therapeutics from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Summit Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $9.80 to $11.90 in a research note on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.07.

Summit Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.66 and a beta of -1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.11 and a 200-day moving average of $16.17.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.28) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.01). On average, analysts predict that Summit Therapeutics PLC will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mahkam Zanganeh acquired 3,810,000 shares of Summit Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.12 per share, for a total transaction of $49,987,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 573,883,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,529,356,492.48. The trade was a 0.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Duggan purchased 3,810,000 shares of Summit Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.12 per share, for a total transaction of $49,987,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 573,883,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,529,356,492.48. The trade was a 0.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 7,870,000 shares of company stock worth $103,616,900. 83.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Summit Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 65,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after buying an additional 3,134 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Summit Therapeutics by 1.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 65,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Summit Therapeutics by 6.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Summit Therapeutics by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 26,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 6,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Summit Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.