Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX) Trading Up 7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Janux Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:JANX) rose 7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $57.22 and last traded at $57.21. Approximately 47,635 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 600,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JANX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Janux Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 27th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Janux Therapeutics from $79.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group started coverage on Janux Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Janux Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Janux Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $89.90.

Janux Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.44 and a beta of 3.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.16.

Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.51) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $0.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 million. Janux Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 463.91% and a negative return on equity of 10.47%. The firm’s revenue was down 82.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Janux Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ra Capital Management, L.P. bought 1,200,000 shares of Janux Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $44.75 per share, with a total value of $53,700,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,317,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $416,946,758.50. This trade represents a 14.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Ventures Xi L.P. Avalon sold 1,843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.02, for a total value of $92,186.86. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,677.42. This trade represents a 22.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 110,177 shares of company stock valued at $6,162,207. 29.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of JANX. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Janux Therapeutics by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,824,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,475,000 after acquiring an additional 47,075 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Janux Therapeutics by 40.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,523,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,587,000 after purchasing an additional 721,563 shares in the last quarter. Logos Global Management LP lifted its position in shares of Janux Therapeutics by 400.0% in the second quarter. Logos Global Management LP now owns 750,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,418,000 after purchasing an additional 600,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Janux Therapeutics by 6.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 662,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,107,000 after purchasing an additional 38,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Janux Therapeutics by 190.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 395,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,985,000 after purchasing an additional 259,445 shares in the last quarter. 75.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Janux Therapeutics

Janux Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops immunotherapies based on Tumor Activated T Cell Engagers (TRACTr) and Tumor Activated Immunomodulators (TRACIr) platforms technology to treat patients suffering from cancer. The company's clinical candidates comprise JANX007, a prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA-TRACTr, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial in adults for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and the vasculature of other tumors; and JANX008, an epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR-TRACTr that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of multiple solid cancers, including colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.