Traders Purchase High Volume of Cytokinetics Call Options (NASDAQ:CYTK)

Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ:CYTK) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 20,700 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,472% compared to the average volume of 1,317 call options.

Cytokinetics Stock Performance

NASDAQ CYTK opened at $49.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.27 and a beta of 0.78. Cytokinetics has a fifty-two week low of $30.68 and a fifty-two week high of $110.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 9.28 and a current ratio of 9.28.

Cytokinetics (NASDAQ:CYTK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $0.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 million. The firm’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.35) EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cytokinetics will post -4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CYTK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Cytokinetics in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Cytokinetics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Cytokinetics in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Cytokinetics in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Cytokinetics from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cytokinetics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert I. Blum sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total value of $260,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 397,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,723,355.84. This trade represents a 1.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Fady Ibraham Malik sold 7,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.01, for a total value of $420,961.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 122,920 shares in the company, valued at $7,007,669.20. The trade was a 5.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,078 shares of company stock valued at $3,514,119. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cytokinetics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Cytokinetics by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 56,885 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cytokinetics by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848,584 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,433,000 after purchasing an additional 109,938 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Cytokinetics in the third quarter valued at $521,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Cytokinetics during the third quarter worth approximately $11,336,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cytokinetics by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 25,067 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter.

About Cytokinetics

Cytokinetics, Incorporated, a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing muscle activators and inhibitors as potential treatments for debilitating diseases. The company develops small molecule drug candidates primarily engineered to impact muscle function and contractility.