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

Summit Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:SMMT)’s share price 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 trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SMMT shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Summit Therapeutics from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $12.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Summit Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Summit Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.91.

Summit Therapeutics Trading Up 0.8%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.54 and a beta of -1.24.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.01). As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Summit Therapeutics PLC will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Summit Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Mahkam Zanganeh acquired 3,810,000 shares of Summit Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.12 per share, with a total value of $49,987,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 573,883,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,529,356,492.48. The trade was a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert W. Duggan acquired 3,810,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.12 per share, with a total value of $49,987,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 573,883,879 shares in the company, valued at $7,529,356,492.48. This trade represents a 0.67% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 83.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics during the second quarter worth $138,838,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Summit Therapeutics by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,371,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,907,000 after buying an additional 4,832,592 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 36,391,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $636,480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,668,089 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,030,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $12,603,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.61% of the company’s stock.

About Summit Therapeutics

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.