Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on VistaGen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN)

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTGN) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 2,482 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 31% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,893 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VistaGen Therapeutics by 246.4% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 420,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 299,304 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in VistaGen Therapeutics by 223.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 289,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 199,958 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of VistaGen Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $190,000. Stempoint Capital LP lifted its position in shares of VistaGen Therapeutics by 2.0% in the second quarter. Stempoint Capital LP now owns 2,413,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,827,000 after purchasing an additional 46,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its holdings in VistaGen Therapeutics by 27.7% during the second quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 203,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 44,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTGN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Maxim Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered VistaGen Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $0.90 price objective (down previously from $15.00) on shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of VistaGen Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $0.95.

VistaGen Therapeutics Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of VTGN traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $0.72. 1,375,715 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 799,273. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.74 and a 200-day moving average of $3.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.43 million, a PE ratio of -0.38 and a beta of 0.56. VistaGen Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $0.68 and a 1-year high of $5.14.

VistaGen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.51) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $0.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.16 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that VistaGen Therapeutics will post -1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About VistaGen Therapeutics

VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ:VTGN) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of next-generation medicines for central nervous system disorders. Incorporated in Delaware in 1998 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, VistaGen applies advanced human pluripotent stem cell technologies to accelerate drug candidate validation and optimization. The company’s core focus is on addressing unmet medical needs in major depressive disorder, neuropathic pain and dermatological conditions.

The company’s lead candidate, AV-101, is an oral prodrug designed to modulate glutamatergic neurotransmission via the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor pathway, with clinical programs targeting major depressive disorder and neuropathic pain.