PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG) Stock Sees Unusually High Put Option Buying

PepGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEPG) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 8,402 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,022% compared to the typical daily volume of 396 put options.

PepGen Price Performance

PepGen stock traded up $2.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $5.32. The company had a trading volume of 80,050,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,376,396. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $2.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.98. The firm has a market cap of $368.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.02 and a beta of 2.02. PepGen has a 12-month low of $1.31 and a 12-month high of $7.80.

PepGen (NASDAQ:PEPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by ($0.01). As a group, research analysts expect that PepGen will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PepGen during the third quarter valued at about $306,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in PepGen by 260.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 529,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 382,487 shares during the period. Artia Global Partners LP purchased a new stake in PepGen in the second quarter worth about $370,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in PepGen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,080,000. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PepGen during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,664,000. 58.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded PepGen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PepGen from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of PepGen in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepGen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.40.

About PepGen

PepGen Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing genetic medicines for serious neuromuscular diseases. The company’s technology is designed to improve the delivery of oligonucleotide therapeutics into skeletal and cardiac muscle, with the goal of addressing diseases caused by genetic mutations or abnormal RNA processing.

PepGen’s platform, known as Enhanced Delivery Oligonucleotides (EDO), combines therapeutic oligonucleotides with proprietary peptides intended to facilitate their distribution into muscle tissue.