Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA) Stock Price Down 23.9% – Here’s Why

Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA) shares dropped 23.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $2.10 and last traded at $2.17. Approximately 4,732,663 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 404% from the average daily volume of 938,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cassava Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cassava Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.00.

Cassava Sciences Stock Down 23.9%

The firm has a market cap of $104.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.99 and a beta of -1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $3.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.68.

Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.05. Research analysts forecast that Cassava Sciences, Inc. will post -3.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cassava Sciences

In related news, CEO Richard Barry acquired 73,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2.75 per share, with a total value of $201,808.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 788,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,167,165. This trade represents a 10.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert Christopher Cook acquired 13,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.91 per share, with a total value of $39,939.75. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 13,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,939.75. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought a total of 94,282 shares of company stock worth $258,101 over the last 90 days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cassava Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cassava Sciences by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,289,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,663,000 after acquiring an additional 119,451 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Cassava Sciences by 2,774.3% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,061,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,572 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Cassava Sciences by 7.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 564,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 38,483 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cassava Sciences by 77.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 496,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 217,404 shares during the period. Finally, GMT Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Cassava Sciences during the first quarter worth $675,000. 38.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cassava Sciences Company Profile

Cassava Sciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies and diagnostics for Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the company was originally founded as Pain Therapeutics in 1998 and rebranded to Cassava Sciences in 2017. Cassava’s research program centers on small molecules designed to address underlying mechanisms of neurodegeneration rather than solely targeting amyloid plaques or tau tangles.

The company’s lead drug candidate, simufilam (formerly PTI-125), is a proprietary small molecule that aims to restore normal shape and function to the scaffolding protein filamin A, which has been implicated in impaired neuronal signaling and inflammation in Alzheimer’s patients.