Oruka Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ORKA) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Oruka Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ORKA) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $75.65 and last traded at $69.3990, with a volume of 700 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ORKA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Oruka Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Oruka Therapeutics from $58.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Oruka Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Oruka Therapeutics from $50.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on Oruka Therapeutics from $40.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.90.

Oruka Therapeutics Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.10 and a beta of -0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.71.

Oruka Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ORKA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported ($0.45) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $0.16. Equities analysts expect that Oruka Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Oruka Therapeutics

In related news, insider Joana Goncalves sold 7,000 shares of Oruka Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.12, for a total transaction of $462,840.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,206,887.24. This trade represents a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Lawrence Otto Klein sold 1,729 shares of Oruka Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.30, for a total value of $71,407.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 927,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,297,861.70. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,765 shares of company stock worth $1,089,745. 24.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oruka Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Oruka Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Oruka Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Oruka Therapeutics by 777.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 143,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,338,000 after purchasing an additional 126,803 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Oruka Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Finally, RTW Investments LP boosted its holdings in Oruka Therapeutics by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 2,058,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,382,000 after purchasing an additional 112,499 shares in the last quarter. 56.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Oruka Therapeutics

Oruka Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical?stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel peptide?based therapies for oncology. The company’s proprietary stapled peptide platform is designed to selectively disrupt intracellular protein–protein interactions that drive tumor growth and immune evasion. By combining the specificity of biologics with the cell?permeability of small molecules, Oruka aims to target cancer pathways that have been historically considered “undruggable.”

The company’s lead candidate, ONCT-01, is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for patients with advanced solid tumors, assessing safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy.