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

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZVRA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 9,221 put options on the company. This is an increase of 121% compared to the typical volume of 4,181 put options.

Insider Transactions at Zevra Therapeutics

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Zevra Therapeutics by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 909,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,973,000 after acquiring an additional 26,479 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Zevra Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Zevra Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $528,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new position in Zevra Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,292,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Zevra Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 35.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Zevra Therapeutics from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. William Blair raised Zevra Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Zevra Therapeutics from $29.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Zevra Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $27.14.

Zevra Therapeutics Stock Down 4.0%

NASDAQ:ZVRA traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $11.37. 117,162 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,455. The company has a market capitalization of $676.63 million, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.01. Zevra Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $8.01 and a 12 month high of $15.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.82.

Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.10. Zevra Therapeutics had a net margin of 52.80% and a return on equity of 54.64%. The firm had revenue of $37.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.08 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zevra Therapeutics will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Zevra Therapeutics

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.