Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of PepGen Call Options (NASDAQ:PEPG)

PepGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 2,321 call options on the company. This is an increase of 246% compared to the average daily volume of 671 call options.

Trending Headlines about PepGen

Here are a few of the latest headlines about PEPG:

• Positive Sentiment: In the Phase 2 FREEDOM2-DM1 study, PGN-EDODM1 showed a mean 46.5% splicing correction, reported functional improvements and a favorable safety profile at the tested dose. The results helped spark a sharp rally and prompted one analyst to raise its rating and price target. PepGen’s stock skyrockets on record-breaking DM1 trial data
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush raised its price target from $4 to $10 and reiterated an “Outperform” rating, reflecting optimism about the data and future milestones. Wedbush stock recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: The offering issues 25 million shares at $5 each, diluting existing shareholders and potentially weighing on the stock. The clinical evidence also comes from only six treated patients, and a U.S. clinical hold remains in place, leaving significant uncertainty about the program’s path forward. PepGen: Stock Soars On DM1 Data, But Caution Warranted On Small Sample Sizes

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEPG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PepGen from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of PepGen in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of PepGen from $4.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PepGen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of PepGen from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $2.50 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.80.

PepGen Price Performance

NASDAQ PEPG opened at $5.04 on Friday. PepGen has a 12 month low of $1.31 and a 12 month high of $7.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $2.77 and a 200-day moving average of $2.97. The company has a market cap of $349.07 million, a P/E ratio of -4.71 and a beta of 2.02.

PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.01). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepGen will post -1.12 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PepGen

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rangeley Capital LLC boosted its holdings in PepGen by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC now owns 68,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 31,896 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepGen during the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of PepGen during the first quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of PepGen by 60.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 216,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 81,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PepGen during the second quarter worth $171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.01% of the company’s stock.

PepGen Company Profile

PepGen is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing oligonucleotide medicines for people with neuromuscular diseases. Its Enhanced Delivery Oligonucleotide (EDO) platform is designed to help deliver these medicines to muscle tissue. The company’s pipeline includes PGN-EDO51, an investigational exon-skipping therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in patients whose genetic mutations are amenable to exon 51 skipping, and PGN-EDODM1, an investigational candidate for myotonic dystrophy type 1.