Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $17.28, but opened at $18.21. Summit Therapeutics shares last traded at $17.5990, with a volume of 730,028 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SMMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Summit Therapeutics from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a report on Monday, June 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Summit Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Summit Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.91.

Summit Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of -15.54 and a beta of -1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.20.

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

Insider Activity

In other Summit Therapeutics news, CEO Mahkam Zanganeh purchased 3,810,000 shares of Summit Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.12 per share, with a total value of $49,987,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 573,883,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,529,356,492.48. This trade represents a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Duggan purchased 3,810,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.12 per share, for a total transaction of $49,987,200.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 83.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Summit Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SMMT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Summit Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $28,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 2,654.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Summit Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Summit Therapeutics by 200.2% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. 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.