Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) Upgraded at Leerink Partners

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Leerink Partners from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $13.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners’ target price points to a potential downside of 13.96% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SMMT. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Summit Therapeutics from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Summit Therapeutics from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Summit Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $7.70 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Summit Therapeutics from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $15.00 price target on shares of Summit Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Summit Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.25.

Summit Therapeutics Stock Performance

Summit Therapeutics stock opened at $15.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.49 and a beta of -1.23. Summit Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $12.25 and a 52-week high of $30.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.33.

Summit Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SMMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by ($0.01). On average, equities research analysts forecast that Summit Therapeutics will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Manmeet Singh Soni bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.45 per share, with a total value of $722,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,123,603 shares in the company, valued at $45,136,063.35. This represents a 1.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert W. Duggan bought 3,810,000 shares of Summit Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.12 per share, with a total value of $49,987,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 573,883,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,529,356,492.48. This represents a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 7,870,000 shares of company stock valued at $103,616,900 in the last three months. 83.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Summit Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baker BROS. Advisors LP grew its position in Summit Therapeutics by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 36,391,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $636,480,000 after buying an additional 2,668,089 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Summit Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $138,838,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,371,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,907,000 after acquiring an additional 4,832,592 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,636,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,070,000 after purchasing an additional 274,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Summit Therapeutics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,147,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,063,000 after purchasing an additional 14,745 shares during the last quarter. 4.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Summit Therapeutics Company Profile

Summit Therapeutics plc is a clinical?stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of precision medicines for serious and life?threatening diseases. The company applies a targeted approach to drug design, focusing on novel mechanisms of action that differentiate its candidates from existing therapies.

Summit’s lead asset, ridinilazole (formerly SMT19969), is being developed to treat Clostridioides difficile infections and has received both Fast Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product designations from the U.S.