Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA)

Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 7,933 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 67% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,741 call options.

Insider Transactions at Cassava Sciences

In other news, CEO Richard Barry bought 73,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.75 per share, for a total transaction of $201,808.75. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 788,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,167,165. This trade represents a 10.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TT Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cassava Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new position in Cassava Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Cassava Sciences in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cassava Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Cassava Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 38.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cassava Sciences Trading Up 6.6%

SAVA traded up $0.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.19. 366,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 746,936. Cassava Sciences has a 52 week low of $1.15 and a 52 week high of $4.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.34 and a 200 day moving average of $2.68. The stock has a market cap of $105.56 million, a P/E ratio of -1.00 and a beta of -0.63.

Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.05. As a group, analysts forecast that Cassava Sciences will post -3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SAVA. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cassava Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Cassava Sciences in a research note on Friday, December 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cassava Sciences has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $2.00.

Cassava Sciences Company Profile

Cassava Sciences, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies and diagnostics for Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the company was originally founded as Pain Therapeutics in 1998 and rebranded to Cassava Sciences in 2017. Cassava’s research program centers on small molecules designed to address underlying mechanisms of neurodegeneration rather than solely targeting amyloid plaques or tau tangles.

The company’s lead drug candidate, simufilam (formerly PTI-125), is a proprietary small molecule that aims to restore normal shape and function to the scaffolding protein filamin A, which has been implicated in impaired neuronal signaling and inflammation in Alzheimer’s patients.