Cassava Sciences Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:SAVA)

Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 5,389 call options on the company. This is an increase of 156% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,107 call options.

Cassava Sciences Stock Down 4.4%

NASDAQ:SAVA opened at $3.26 on Thursday. Cassava Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $1.15 and a fifty-two week high of $33.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.04. The stock has a market cap of $157.49 million, a PE ratio of -1.28 and a beta of -2.06.

Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Cassava Sciences will post -3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cassava Sciences

In related news, CEO Richard Barry purchased 190,633 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.24 per share, with a total value of $427,017.92. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 660,195 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,836.80. This trade represents a 40.60% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 245,113 shares of company stock worth $551,705. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in Cassava Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,432,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Cassava Sciences by 679.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 562,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 489,936 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Cassava Sciences by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 496,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 217,404 shares in the last quarter. GMT Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Cassava Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $675,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Cassava Sciences by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 406,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 10,782 shares in the last quarter. 38.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cassava Sciences

Cassava Sciences, Inc, a clinical stage biotechnology company, develops drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. Its lead therapeutic product candidate is simufilam, a small molecule drug, which is completed Phase 2 clinical trial; and investigational diagnostic product candidate is SavaDx, a blood-based biomarker/diagnostic to detect Alzheimer's disease.