Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Veru (NASDAQ:VERU)

Veru Inc. (NASDAQ:VERU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 8,511 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 500% compared to the average daily volume of 1,418 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veru

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Veru in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in Veru by 34.2% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 56,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares during the period. Weaver Consulting Group lifted its stake in shares of Veru by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 69,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 20,280 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Veru by 185.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 66,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 42,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Veru by 142.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 96,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 56,736 shares during the period. 47.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Veru in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $3.00 target price on shares of Veru in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Veru Trading Up 15.8 %

VERU traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $1.13. 3,977,838 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,487,812. The firm has a market cap of $165.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.09 and a beta of -0.53. Veru has a one year low of $0.36 and a one year high of $1.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $0.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $0.80.

Veru (NASDAQ:VERU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 16th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.01. Veru had a negative net margin of 223.85% and a negative return on equity of 92.88%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Veru will post -0.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veru Company Profile

Veru Inc, a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing medicines for treatment of metabolic diseases, oncology, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Its marketed products comprise FC2 female condom for the dual protection against unplanned pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.