Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA)

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 9,221 put options on the company. This is an increase of 121% compared to the average daily volume of 4,181 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZVRA has been the topic of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Zevra Therapeutics from $29.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. William Blair raised shares of Zevra Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price objective on Zevra Therapeutics from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zevra Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $27.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Neil McFarlane sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.25, for a total transaction of $225,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 417,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,693,781.25. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zevra Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZVRA. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in Zevra Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $10,292,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Zevra Therapeutics by 3.0% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 909,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,973,000 after buying an additional 26,479 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Zevra Therapeutics by 259.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 554,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,168,000 after buying an additional 400,336 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Zevra Therapeutics by 116.6% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 383,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,502,000 after buying an additional 206,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zevra Therapeutics by 0.9% in the third quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 355,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after buying an additional 3,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.03% of the company’s stock.

Zevra Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:ZVRA traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.37. The stock had a trading volume of 117,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,455. The stock has a market cap of $676.63 million, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.08 and its 200 day moving average is $10.82. Zevra Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $8.01 and a fifty-two week high of $15.03.

Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $37.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.08 million. Zevra Therapeutics had a net margin of 52.80% and a return on equity of 54.64%. Equities analysts expect that Zevra Therapeutics will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Zevra Therapeutics Company Profile

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. is a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for rare diseases. Its work includes research and development as well as bringing therapies to patients with limited treatment options. The company’s products include MIPLYFFA (arimoclomol), approved in the United States for neurological manifestations of Niemann-Pick disease type C, and OLPRUVA (sodium phenylbutyrate), a treatment for certain urea cycle disorders. Zevra also advances investigational therapies for rare and complex conditions.