Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM)

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXSM) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 2,245 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 200% compared to the average daily volume of 749 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $306.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Axsome Therapeutics from $200.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Axsome Therapeutics from $258.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Axsome Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axsome Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.68.

Axsome Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of AXSM opened at $143.45 on Friday. Axsome Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $123.50 and a 1 year high of $260.19. The company has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.25 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $186.03 and a 200-day moving average of $199.10.

Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported ($0.99) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.10). Axsome Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 265.55% and a negative net margin of 24.68%. The firm had revenue of $218.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.11 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Axsome Therapeutics will post -3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axsome Therapeutics news, CEO Herriot Tabuteau sold 4,660 shares of Axsome Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.95, for a total value of $997,007.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 7,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,546,644.55. The trade was a 39.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Mark L. Jacobson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.65, for a total transaction of $2,086,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,500. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 59,664 shares of company stock valued at $12,624,805 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axsome Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Axsome Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $759,695,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Axsome Therapeutics by 1,230.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 577,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,606,000 after acquiring an additional 534,066 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Axsome Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $110,756,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,171,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Axsome Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,275,000. 81.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Axsome Therapeutics

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York, the company develops medicines for conditions with significant unmet medical needs, including depression, narcolepsy, excessive daytime sleepiness, and other neurological disorders.

Axsome’s commercial products include Auvelity (dextromethorphan and bupropion), an oral treatment approved in the United States for major depressive disorder in adults, and Sunosi (solriamfetol), a therapy for excessive daytime sleepiness associated with narcolepsy or obstructive sleep apnea.